The Story of Anna Irving
by Emma Samari
Summary: A story left in the dark. A story untold by the very few ones who know it. But the very person that lived through it all is going to tell this story, leaving no secret unrevealed.
1. Hell

This is my first story. I've been thinking about this special story for quite a while now and since I'm bored I thought I should give it a try.

I'm a huge Tales of Symphonia-Fan and my favourite Character is Anna Irving (or Aurion). It always bothered me that we actually know nothing about her. OK, we know her name and that she fell in love with Kratos, but that's it. So I decided to tell her story. I thought about her so many times and I believe that I figured out how she probably was.

Please don't kill me if get something wrong. My first language is not English, but I'm trying to improve. So tell me when I make spelling or grammar mistakes.

I'm going to write in her point of view.

And before I forget it, **I do not own the characters or locations of Tales of Symphonia**. (Although I would want to)

I hope you'll enjoy!

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><p><strong>Prologue:<strong>

_Have you ever experienced years that are too short or seconds which feel like eternity? No? Well, I certainly have and it was the best time in my entire life! There was a lot of pain and despair, but also joy and hope! And honestly I don't think there's someone who felt more pain than me or more happiness. I think I was a cursed, but also a blessed person._

_I guess I should just tell you the story of my life. …Oh? You know already? How? What? He told you? Really? That doesn't sound like him. I mean he is not exactly what you call a chatterbox. Especially when it comes to private things...Wait a minute! He only told you the sad part? And just the end? He's a good storyteller, but he sucks at telling our story. Okay, forget what he told you. I will tell you how it REALLY was and not the totally sad and tragic version._

_Alright, where should I begin?_

_Hmm...Got it!_

_I'll start with a day in hell._

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><p><em>Damn Anna! Just push! You know what happens, if you don't! <em>Sweat and blood was running down her body, when she pushed the huge stone forward. Her short, chocolate brown hair moved slightly in the soft wind. With one hand she whipped off the sweat of her forehead. Her soft face was covered in dirt, but her hazelnut eyes were still sharp and even now full of life. Her face didn't bear the same despair like all the other prisoners at the Asgard-human ranch. She seemed like she was still fighting. Still resisting. Still hoping.

Two Desians were watching the group of ten humans closely and whenever someone got slower they used their whips with terrible precision. She knew that moving those stones was absolutely pointless. It was just painful and exhausting, but that was its purpose. It should break the body and the will of every human in this ranch.

"Move, Human!" yelled one of the Desians and hit her so hard with his whip, that Anna could fell how her skin was torn up. Then she felt warm blood running down her back. "Hey, keep your temper! This one's the Angelus Project. If she dies, you'll be the next one" said the other half-elf to calm his comrade down, although he didn't seem to be happy about that either.

Angelus Project…Every day she heard it. Every single day since she was captured she was called the Angelus Project. It seemed to be a big secret, because even some of the Desians didn't know what it was. But Anna had eventually figured that it was some kind of research or rather experiment. Every human in this ranch had an Exsphere directly attached to his hand, except hers. Her Exsphere was attached to her chest, but that wasn't the only thing that was different. Around this cursed jewel there was a Key-Crest or at least that's how the Desians called it.

It didn't take her long to realise that this thing was slowly sucking the life out of her. Since the Exsphere had touched her skin she felt threatened by this thing. It felt alive. Like an animal that was slowly devouring her soul. Her Exsphere was somehow special. Kvar once mentioned that it was more powerful than a normal Exsphere, but she couldn't care less about this fact. For her it was just more dangerous.

The only positive thing about it was that no one dared to hurt her too much. Killing her would be an unforgivable crime, because her DNA was the only one compatible for the Angelus Project. Of all the people in Sylvarant her DNA was suited for this slow torture and it was a slow torture indeed. Even toughest ones among the other prisoners died or were killed after three months. They were taken by the Desians, brought to a secret place and no one saw them again. But Anna lived in this hell now over a year although it felt like eternity. She was now 20 years old. She had no idea how long she would have to wait for her death.

Suddenly a little child collapsed in front of her…and no one seemed to register it. The other prisoners ignored the body and just kept pushing the stones. Not even the Desians cared! Usually they at least looked if the human was still alive, but this time they did absolutely nothing! _No one cares if this child is alive or dead! Not even the other prisoners! _"Hey, maggot! Go back to your place!" shouted one of the half-elves, when Anna ran to the little child. She kneeled down and carefully picked the kid up. It was a little girl with black, curly hair. Her whole body was covered with bruises and blood.

After a few seconds she realised that she was holding a corpse. _You poor, poor little girl! You died in front of all those people and no one even flinched. I hope you're in a better place now. May Martel give you peace. _A fewtears were running down her cheeks, when the Desians's whip hit her the first time. "I said, back to your place, maggot!" he shouted.

"What the hell is wrong with you? This child died right in front of your eyes and you pretend like nothing happened!" screamed Anna, but she didn't just scream at the Desians. She screamed at the other humans as well. No matter how often you see the death it should never become insignificant. The whip hit her second time. "Back to work, bitch!" he yelled. The whip hit her the third time. "No!" she answered silently. _Yeah, Anna! Make it worse and talk back. That's very smart of you!_ she thought when the two Desians started to hit her together.

_15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22…They don't stop hitting me! Maybe…I'll die today. Kvar would be so mad. His precious Angelus Project failed, because two Desians beat me to death!_

_25, 26, 27, 28, 29… I wonder if he would kill those two. I hope not. They're not so bad actually. I could think of plenty of other Desians, who are worse. But Kvar is not very forgiving._

_35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40…Why can't I just faint? That would help to endure the pain. Oh great, they start to hit me harder. I guess they are becoming angry because I'm not screaming. Maybe I should. The pain is really great. But screaming won't make it better._

_47, 48, 49, 50…Ok; now I feel the blood loss. But the last time I was punished like this I lost more blood. Oh my goddess, Anna! Do you know how you sound? Like someone who spent way too much time in a human ranch. Didn't you promise yourself that you would at least try to escape? And did you? Not even once! You have to try before you're allowed to give up!_

"Stop" said a calm, deep voice. And the Desians….really stopped. Anna's body was shaking. Now that the Desians stopped she felt that her entire back was covered in blood. The pain was actually not that bad. It was really sad, but she felt worse pain. Then she heard the cold and sharp voice of Kvar "I thought I told you that A012 should be treated carefully. You two will be punished for disobeying those orders." _Now those two Desians are in deep trouble! Kvar himself caught them. They will be cleaning cells for a looong time. …Hey,…but who told them to stop? _she asked herself. Anna, still kneeling on the ground, turned around. She looked up and saw the person who just saved her life.

It was a man. He had spiky reddish-brown hair that was totally messy. He was really tall and looked directly at her. He wore white clothes, but she couldn't describe them closer. She had never seen anything like it. They were very fancy and in this ranch totally out of place. This man seemed to be older than her, but not much older. His face looked very strict. _He's human! But how can that be? Desians hate humans! _she thought, but then she looked into his eyes. They were somehow red yet so brown that it didn't look weird. His eyes had a hard expression. Anna, who could read people like books, saw that this man didn't want to be here. He felt uneasy. And there was something else, something that caught her attention more than anything else. His look made her feel uncomfortable. It was very strange. Humans usually didn't give her that kind of feeling. _Maybe I'm wrong. He doesn't…feel human. Perhaps he is something else…_ Although a small of her had to admit that he was quite handsome. Very handsome actually, but so…cold.

Then she looked away. She was afraid that if she looked at him too long, she would be punished again. Besides this man was absolutely frightening. No, not frightening. Rather like his pure presence demanded respect. And for once she was willing to give him that kind of respect. _Who in Martel's name is this? _"I must apologize, Lord Kratos. A012 is a trouble maker since the day she got her. And the fact that she can't be punished properly does not make it better" explained Kvar. _Wait a minute! LORD Kratos? This guy is a superior of Kvar? But he is…kinda human! That's absolutely impossible!_

"She is the most promising host body of the Angelus Project till now. She is at this ranch for more than a year now and doesn't seem to have the slightest problem with the Crystal. If she survives long enough, this Cruxis Crystal will be absolutely flawless" said Kvar. "Impressive" replied Lord Kratos. Anna smiled faintly. This man couldn't care less about Kvar's words. In fact he seemed to be bored to death. _When was the last you smiled? It was such a long time ago that you forgot how it feels to smile. Even if this guy is a Desian, I start to like him._

Then Kvar continued "If I'm able to harvest a Cruxis Crystal of that quality I will surely become the leader of the five Grand Cardinals." Suddenly Anna started laughing. She couldn't help it. What Kvar had said, sounded just too ridiculous for her. _Leader of the Grand Cardinals? He's got to be kidding! _ "Kvar, before you become the leader of the Grand Cardinals hell freezes up." "Shut up, inferior being or I'll…" "Do what? You cannot kill me and every other punishment won't stop me from being a pain in the neck." Since the day she was captured by the Desians, she used every opportunity to get on Kvar's nerves. It was the only thing she enjoyed doing. That was indeed in some way quite pitiable.

"I have to apologize again. Even after a year she still doesn't know how to behave. I will order some guards to bring A012 to her cell. I want to show you later how well the Crystal is growing." _Great Anna! Later you will be REALLY tortured. Why can't you just shut up? Just once! _Both of them started to walk away. She was still kneeling in the dirt and waiting for the guards to arrive. "What's your name?" someone asked her suddenly. Surprised she realised that Lord Kratos had asked her that question. "A…Anna. Anna…Irving" she stuttered confused. Then he walked away. _That was…weird! He asked for my name. He's the first person to ask for my name for over a year. Actually that was my first real conservation in months. As short it may was. _ Due to the fact that the Desians couldn't punish her properly they started to hit other humans instead. That was the reason why not even the other prisoners wanted to talk to her.

She was looking at him, while he was walking away. With just one little word this man had saved her life. Her life might be miserable and to her death was maybe a good option. But even so she was still grateful. And because of that she whispered "Thanks for saving my life." And even though it was completely impossible that he heard her, she somehow had the feeling that he had gotten every single word.

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><p>The first time she had seen her cell, Anna hadn't understood why it was so big. But after her first personal torture, she had. Kvar did everything to ensure that her body and soul was tortured enough to let the damn Crystal grow accurately. Her body was beaten enough by the Desians, but Kvar took personally care of torturing her mentally. Once in a fortnight he let his soldiers kill people right in front of her eyes. Mostly people from Luin, her hometown. No matter how often she watched those people get killed it never ever left her cold. This kind of torture hurt her more than anything else could and Kvar was well aware of that.<p>

Right now he showed Lord Kratos how well this torment worked. Anna saw the young woman who was held by two Desians and immediatly started to beg "Please! Please! Don't do it! Please don't! I beg of you please don't kill her! PLEASE!" The woman was crying and too afraid to do anything. Her body was shaking. But Anna could only stand and watch how one of the half-elves cut her throat. Blood was pouring down from her neck and painted her whole body crimson red.

Anna fell on her knees and started to sob. She covered her face her hands to hide her tears. It was always like that. She couldn't do anything. She was the reason that those people died. And because of that every time she saw them die it tore her heart apart. It hurt deep down inside of her. A pain she couldn't escape. "Mental torture has proven to be very effective" Kvar explained Lord Kratos. Both were standing behind a window to watch her closely but not to be directly involved in the process. "In a few moments you will understand what I mean"

And then it happened. She felt a sudden burn insider her chest. The blue Crystal, attached to her skin, started to glow and turned purple. Anna screamed. Far too often had this happened. The Crystal was right now absorbing a bit of her soul. While she was screaming out of pain, she could see how excited and pleased Kvar was. _This Bastard! He should burn in hell!_ For some seconds her body felt like it would burn to ashes, but then the glowing stopped and the pain vanished.

Totally exhausted she fell on the ground. Even though she didn't feel any pain anymore she still felt miserable. Another part of her was gone. Anna felt incomplete and hollow. She was still crying. She didn't know how long she could take all this. _Soon it will drive me insane…_

"It is truly amazing how well the Crystal absorbs her Mana. And it's even more surprising how well she takes all this. She is more resistant than any other host body. However, after the Crystal absorbed such a big amount of Mana she always loses consciousness." _At least something Kvar doesn't know_ Actually Anna never fainted. She just pretended, because then she was left alone in her cell. And so she had usually an hour just for herself.

She heard that the Desians left and that Kvar told Lord Kratos something uninteresting, but after a while she was all alone. She sat up and realised relieved that the Desians took the corpse with them. But the floor was still covered in blood. _Well, better than being alone with a corpse. _She tried to wipe off the blood on her hands, when a strange feeling overcome her. _Something is wrong…_ She turned around and saw that Lord Kratos was still standing behind the window, watching her.

"Oh my goddess!" she screamed and jumped up. _This is bad! He knows that I didn't fainted. Shit! He's going to tell Kvar! I'm screwed! _"You look quite awake for someone who's supposed to be unconsciousness" he simply commented. "Well, I ahhh….I guess….Why should I answer you? It's not like you care anyway!" she answered a bit angry and confused. _What's wrong with him? Why is he talking to me? _"You are mistaken. I care. If a human can fool Kvar this easily I should reconsider his position as Grand Cardinal" he replied calm. This answer surprised her so much that she couldn't answer for a few moments.

"Oh…that's…You're weird!" she answered "What are you doing here?"

"Watching the Angelus Project."

"Yeah, of course you're doing that. But trust me nothing interesting is going to happen while you're here."

"I never expected that."

"Then what's the point in watching me?"

"I'm just interested."

"Interested in what?"

"How someone behaves after this kind of treatment."

"Do you mean the whole human ranch experience or the torture from earlier?"

"Both."

"Well, I never felt better in my entire life! Happy now?"

"Not quite."

"You don't waste any words, do you?"

"…"

"It's strange…"

"What?"

"You don't look like a half-elf, but you are certainly no human."

"Why do you think I'm not human?"

"Because Kvar would never ever accept a human as his superior! Besides you don't feel human."

"What do you mean?"

"Your Aura…your presence. It feels just too different." _What a stupid thing to say! Do you know how ridiculous you sound? _

"…"

"Never mind. Still interested in my behaviour?"

"Still interested."

"You're weird."

"You said that already."

"It's still true."

"…."

"Why are you doing this?"

"Doing what?"

"Talking to me! You are a superior of Kvar! You're supposed to treat me like dirt not talk to me like I'm a normal human being!"

"Do want me to treat you like dirt?"

"No, of course not! It's just strange."

"You are repeating yourself."

"…I simply can't believe it!"

"Believe what?"

"That…that someone like you…is…well, I guess nice. Don't get me wrong. It's not that I like you or anything, but you are not as disgusting as the others."

"…."

"Perhaps I'm wrong. It would be not the first time I misjudged someone."

Before he could answer the door opened and a Desian entered. "Lord Kratos? Lady Pronyma sent a message. It seems to be very important." _Man, this guy is absolutely afraid of him! His whole body shivers. Well, I guess he should be. Something tells me that Lord Kratos is extremely dangerous…_ "I'm on my way." he replied with his calm voice. Just one last look and then he left the room.

She heard the half-elf saying "The host-body is awake!" But she really didn't care. Anna was just confused. _Who the hell is this guy? And why do I have the strange feeling that he will cause me a lot of trouble? _She decided just to forget about him. Worrying wouldn't help her. She tried to get a bit of sleep before the Desians decided to torture her some more. _But I would still like to know if he's a human or not _she thought before she fell asleep.

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><p><strong>I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Well, I certainly had fun writing it.<strong>

**Reviews are very appreciated!**


	2. Escape and Rescue

Well, here's the second chapter.

I hope you'll enjoy it!

And again **I** **do not own the characters or the locations of Tales of Symphonia.**

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><p><em>Run! Run! Run! You have to run faster! They will catch you if you don't! Oh please, Martel help me! Please, let me escape! Please, help me! <em>Anna prayed while she was running for her life. She had no idea how she managed to slip past through the guards or how she broke open the lock of her cell. She only knew that she did it! She escaped from the ranch! She was free! Not out of danger but free!

The cold air of the night gently touched her face. It was so quiet. After spending a year in a crowded human ranch she wasn't used to the absence of noise. And the smell of the fresh air was so absolutely wonderful! There wasn't the reek of blood, sweat or other smelling liquids. With joy she filled her lungs with the cool air.

She knew she couldn't return to Luin. It would be the first place the Desians searched through. Returning to Luin wouldn't be just absolutely stupid; it also would be the death of her mother (if she was still alive), a punishment for her escape.

She was running to Hima and the woods before it. There she had a small chance that the Desians would lose her trail. If she reached them before they caught her. At least she couldn't see the ranch anymore. But it was night time so she wasn't sure how far she already got. There was no alarm till now so her escape was not discovered yet.

_Just keep running! It's not that far to Hima. You can make it if you just keep running. Just run!_

_...I never realised before how wonderful it is to be free! It feels so great! No walls around me, no Desians, NO Kvar! It feels like heaven! And the moon is so beautif…Hey, Anna! Focus! When you're out of danger you can admire the moon, but not now!_

After quarter of an hour she heard the alarm in the distance. That ear-piercing sound made her heart skip a beat. _Oh my goddess, they found out! They found out! They will find me! They will catch me! I'm doomed!...DON'T PANIC! Stay calm, Anna. They haven't caught you yet. You still have a chance. Just keep running!...Actually I'm quite far away now. Fear certainly makes you fast. Okay, the woods must be nearby. Just find them and hide there! Oh please, Martel help me!_

Five days past since the day Kvar showed Lord Kratos the Asgard-Human ranch. In this short time nothing special happened, except that Kvar had been in an awful good mood. It seemed that the Angelus Project really had brought him closer to his goal: To become the leader of the five Grand Cardinals. Maybe that had been the reason why she had tried to escape. Well, rather this had been the reason why she had had the courage to try to escape.

When Kvar was in a good mood, what happened once in a blue moon, the other Desians tended to get a bit careless and that had been her luck. She had been able to break out of her cell and to sneak through the whole ranch. One of the minor entrances had been unlocked and that had been her ticket to freedom. _I bet there are some Desian heads rolling right now. Kvar must be freaking out! His Angelus Project escaped! Goddess, I would love to see his face!_

Finally she could see the border of the first wood. _Yes! I made it! Now I just have to hide! Thank you, Martel! Thank you! _She could see the trees and bushes. It had been such a long time since she had seen these kinds of plants. She realised how much she had missed the vegetation of Sylvarant.

Only a few meters and then she would have been in the forest, but suddenly Anna felt an incredible heat behind her. Shocked she stopped and could only watch how three flaming fire balls set fire to the trees. Half-elf magic!

_NO! They c…_But before she could finish her thought, she felt how a whip hit her back. The woman fell to the ground. _They caught me! They really did…_ "There is this piece of dirt!" one Desian yelled. "Got pretty far for a human" stated a second one. Anna turned around and realised that she was cornered by five Desians. _No! I don't want to go back! I was so close! So close! _Then one of the half-elves kicked her. She couldn't even scream or try to defend herself. She was too exhausted and too desperate. Her entire hope of freedom had been crushed. Anna couldn't even make her body move.

"I think I should teach you a lesson!" said the one who kicked her and continued treading her. "You will pay for trying to run away!" The other Desians just observed, but after a few moments a second one joined him. The pain was nearly unbearable. _If I could just pass out, then the pain would stop. _They were slowly beating her to death. She somehow managed to protect her face with her hands. _I'm gonna die here. After I survived a year of torture in a human ranch I'm going to die because I dared to escape. Because some cursed Desians lost their temper and beat me to death! I don't want to die! Not now! Not like this! Martel, what have I done to deserve this? What?_

All of a sudden she felt that she was covered in a liquid. After a few moments the smell told her that it was blood. Surprised Anna felt that no one was beating her anymore. She did not dare to open her eyes and tried to hear what was around her. There was just silence and crackling sound of fire. _Am I…dead? Is it over now? But why do I hear fire burning then?_ Carefully she opened her eyes.

"WHAT IN MARTEL'S NAME…?" she screamed, when she realised that she was surrounded by Desian corpses. The blood on Anna wasn't hers it was…theirs! Shocked she just sat there and covered her mouth with one hand to not scream again. _Oh my goddess! What just happened? Why are they dead? What…what…killed them? And…why didn't it kill me as well? _Her whole body was shaking, while she searched for the reason why the Desians died. After a few moments she saw a lone figure in the darkness.

At first she just saw the outlines but then the figure came closer into light of the flames behind her. "Who…" Anna started, but she stopped immediately when she recognized who just saved her. _Oh. My. Goddess!_ "Are you alright?" asked Lord Kratos with his usual calm voice. _That can't be! He saved me? He killed the Desians? But he…IS a Desian! He is a superior of Kvar! Why…? How…?...Do I…have a concussion? _she thought too confused to respond.

"Are you alright?" he asked again and made a step forward. Frightened she moved backwards. For some time there was a dead silence. Her body was still trembling when she answered stuttering "You…you…k-killed them! You killed De…Desians! Wh…why?" After some moments he replied simply "I killed them, because I had too. Now, would you please answer my question and tell me if you're unharmed."

"I...ahhh….I am not…really unharmed, but…I suppose…I'm okay." she answered. Then, before Anna could say something, he said "Alright then. We should leave." he looked around, "More Desians will be here in no time"

"We? What do you mean by that?"

"Alone you have absolutely no chance of escaping the Desians. I'm going to help you till you're safe."

_He? Helping me?_

"Now wait just a minute! YOU want to help ME till I'm safe? You, a superior of Kvar, want to help me to escape from the Desians? Sorry, but to me this sounds very suspicious! You are a leading member of the organisation that made me go through hell and you ask me to trust you? How should I know that that isn't just some weird Desian-trap or something?" she asked him angrily. Anna might was in a very desperate situation, but she wouldn't trust some strange Desian Lord without a VERY good reason.

He looked at her for a while. He seemed to think about what he should answer her. Then he said "You don't know. I can give you no proof that this isn't a trap. You will just have to believe me. If you want to stay alive, you should let me help you." While he was talking, she was looking into his eyes. She searched for a sign that he was lying to her. For a sign that told her that she shouldn't trust him. But there wasn't. He seemed to be completely honest. _You have to risk it! You don't have a choice!_

"…Alright. I believe you that you want to help me. I believe you that this isn't a trap. BUT I will not trust you till I know why a Desian Lord should rescue someone like me. And since I'm far too exhausted right now I won't ask you why you are doing this. I also have the feeling you wouldn't answer me anyway…" she answered calm.

He just nodded. _Anna, do you really think this is a good idea? He is a Lord of the Desians. He is dangerous. Very dangerous… _she thought, while she was trying to stand up. Way too late she realised how exhausted she REALLY was. _Oh no! Not now! My body has just a GREAT timing! _"Ahhm…I said…that I was okay, but I was wrong. I…believe…that…I'm going…to…" and before Anna even hit the ground, she had passed out.

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><p>Fire….pain….blood…."No! Get away!" Anna mumbled, when she woke up. A nightmare… She had dreamed that she had escaped from the human ranch and there had been so much blood. Too much blood…<em>Even when I dream about escaping, the Desians punish me.<em> Some birds were singing, while she was stretching. _Birds? But there are no b…_And suddenly Anna realised that she was sitting in a forest glade near a little brook.

"Oh my goddess!" she whispered "I really did escape! I'm…I'm free!" For a couple of minutes she was sitting there trying to comprehend that this wasn't a dream. _Okay, calm down. Don't freak out! You are free now. Just try to think about what happened yesterday. Then you're allowed to enjoy this incredible feeling of freedom!_

_You broke out of your cell. You sneaked through the ranch. Then you ran away. But the caught you. And then…and then…you were saved. This Lord Kratos showed up. Then you fainted. How did I get her? He must have carried me. That's a bit strange, but well. However, where is he? _Anna looked around. She saw trees, bushes and grass, but no one else. She was all alone. _Perhaps he left. Well, if he really did it doesn't bother me. As long if he doesn't cause me any troubles I don't care where he is. Besides he was really scary…_

"Okay, now you're allowed to freak out!" she said to herself grinning. Anna stood up and just enjoyed the feeling of being free. The cool air, the soft grass beneath her feet, warm sun that was shining on her and the sound of the purling brook. The sound of the water reminded her eventually how damn thirsty she was.

She walked carefully to the brook and kneeled down. Before she started to drink she made sure that she was alone. Anna had no idea how far she was away from the Asgard ranch. There could be some Desians nearby and she didn't want to risk her new freedom.

Then she started to drink. _Oh my goddess! Water tastes so good! So unbelievable fresh and cool! _After ten minutes her thirst was satisfied. Before she could think of something else to do she saw her reflection in the water.

"Anna, you look absolutely awful!" she said to herself. Her whole face was covered in dirt and scratches, but she could have lived with that. The part that really disgusts her was the fact that she was still covered in the Desian blood. It had dried over the night and was now black. The blood was everywhere even in her hair.

"How am I supposed to get rid of all the blood? Even if I would take a bath, my clothes would still be full of all this. And if I wash them too, I would have to walk around in drenched clothes for hours" she mumbled. Annoyed she said to herself, while she was trying to at least wash her face "Next time this Lord Kratos kills someone; he should try to do it without spilling so much blood."

"I'll keep that in mind for the next time" a familiar voice said behind her. That startled her so much that she overbalanced and fell into the brook. "What the hell? Do you have to sneak up on me? Great, now I'm totally sodden!" Anna replied angrily, while she was trying to stand up "I thought you left!"

"I said I would leave when you are out of danger, but you're far away from safe. Besides I didn't sneak up to you. I walked normally" Lord Kratos answered. "Yeah, right. Already forgot that" while she was saying this she rolled her eyes "Till I'm safe… You are lucky that I'm not in the mood to ask many questions."

She whipped off some water out of her face. _At least some of the blood came off. _Then she noticed that he was holding something. "What's that?" She pointed at him. "That is the reason why I wasn't here when you woke up." he answered "It was a bit more difficult to get to Hima without running into Desians than I thought."

"Hima? Are we so close to…Wait! Are you holding some clothes? Clean, undamaged clothes?" she asked with a sudden light in her eyes. "Ye…" and before he could even finish the sentence Anna had ripped them out of his hands and looked at the clothes. It was a white blouse with short sleeves which only reached to the elbows. There were also short brown pants. But there was also some kind of green short dress that seemed to be worn over the other garments. Practical yet pretty clothes.

_This fabric feels so soft! And so clean! _For a moment she forgot that he was watching her. Then she said "I have to admit that you have a good taste. Not my style but still nice. And you bought this, because…?" "Travelling with someone that is dressed like this" he pointed at her "is a bit conspicuous." "Right. Well, then I should get dressed. Would you mind uhmm…you know to give me some privacy. " she said. He didn't even reply he just turned around and disappeared out of her sight. "What a chatterbox…" she whispered sarcastically.

Behind a tree Anna removed the wet clothes and with great pleasure she put on the new clothes. After wearing the heavy, grey fabric of that thing (because after a year she couldn't call it a garment anymore) the light drapery nearly felt like nothing. She looked at herself in the water. Thanks to that unintentional bath from before, her body was mostly clean.

Well, not completely stainless, but it she looked normal again. The clothes really suited her. They looked somehow cheeky just like her. _Fine feathers make fine birds…I look like a normal human in this clothes! They cover all of my scars and even a bit of the Exsphere. But…_She sighed heavily. _I'm so bony. I really need more weight. …Anna, you're the only women in Sylvarant who thinks something like that._

She turned around and again Lord Kratos stood behind her. "Goddess, you have to stop that! I'll get a heart attack if you don't" she said a bit startled. "Here." he just answered and showed her a brown belt. Carefully she took it and put it on. "You know" she said, while she was looking down at herself "I can't decide if I should be happy or concerned about the fact that you know my size."

"Hmpf"

"But still: Thank you"

"…Do you have any relatives in Izoold?"

"Well, actually yes. An aunt and a cousin. Why?"

"In that case I will escort you to Izoold. There you should be safe."

"Oh! Good. …Wait! Even if we are close to Hima the journey to Izoold would take us at least a month, if nothing unexpected happens."

"Yes. I know that."

"A month. You know that are four weeks or thirty days. That's a long time. Don't you have something else to do? I don't know…something what Desian Lords do?"

"…"

"Wow. Really nothing? Whatever you get paid, you get too much. …But I guess I shouldn't complain."

"We should leave. If we get further away from the ranch you could rest properly and eat something." he said. "Food?" she asked with a surprised voice. _Oh my goddess I would kill for something to eat! How could I forget that I'm starving?_ He nodded. "Oh, well ahmm…Go ahead then. I'll follow." she said, and thought _Then I'm able to watch you and see if I should really trust you. He looks to me still very suspicious…and a bit scary._

He started to walk, but after a few steps she added "Your name is Kratos, right? Since we're going to spend a month together I guess it would be easier if we use our normal names. "Lord Kratos" and "A012" are just tongue twisters, don't you think?" "Alright. Let us go, Anna" he answered calm and continued walking.

_Is it weird that I like the fact that someone's calling me by my name? Well, at least this month won't be completely uncomfortable, but boring if I have to do all the talking. Maybe I'm able to find out why he's doing that. Although I shouldn't be too hopeful, he doesn't seem like he wants talk about something like that. _"I'm right behind you, Kratos" she said and with a content smile she enjoyed the freedom to call a Desian Lord by his name.

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><p>I hope you liked this chapter!<p>

Reviews are always welcome!


	3. Change of Mind

Hi again! Sorry it took me so long. I was quite busy. (School, family,...)

I thought after rather violent chapters I should write a cute one.

So here you go. Hope you'll enjoy!

**I do not own the characters or the locations of Tales of Symphonia.**

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><p><em>Pretty good story till now, ha? Not so sad and tragic like you imagined, right? Although I have to admit that was not quite the fun part. But don't worry it will start soon enough. Okay, where was I? <strong>You shouldn't do that. <strong>Kratos! What are you doing here? Hey, what do you mean? **Some stories should stay untold.**_

_Oh, no! You are so not stopping me! **But I…**But you what? You told them already? Oh, I know that and I'm really disappointed. If I remember correctly you told them like this: You came down on this world. You met me. I gave birth to Lloyd and then I died. Wait, you said you killed me._

_First of all you saved me and your son by killing me. **I…**NO! I'm talking! And secondly how could you possibly describe these five glorious years we've spent together in four sentences? We are not like Romeo and Juliet! It wasn't a tragic love story. We had a lot of fun or at least I had. Besides we were…sorry, are awesome together! And you can't deny that! I'm going to tell them everything and not even you can stop me from doing it!_

_**Hmpf…**Oh man, you are so cute when you think you can win a fight against me. **Didn't you want to tell your story? **Oh yeah. Right. Hey, maybe we can tell it together. After all it's our story. **Alright. Am I allowed to interfere? **No. **I should have known that. **Okay, when I'm talking about all the Cruxis stuff you may help me. **Very well.**_

_Okay, but we should skip some time ahead, because to be honest nothing exciting happened during the first week. There was just awkward silence. Man, that was boring! **There was nothing to say at that time. **Yeah, you're right. You were really creeping me out. Okay, that's not quite true. I was absolutely afraid of you…and I didn't trust you…and I really didn't like you…and…Oh, well. I…ah…I guess I've made my point. **Yes, you did. **Hey, don't be mad. I changed my mind very soon after that. I can tell exactly when it happened. It was the tenth night after my escape. When I think about it, it is quite a lovely memory, don't you think? **Yes, indeed.**_

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><p>"Is something wrong?" Anna asked a bit worried and a bit annoyed "Why are you watching me, while I'm eating?" She sat on the ground and was looking at him. Anna held the apple Kratos had given her tight. Although this apple tasted so incredible delicious and even though she was so hungry, she couldn't eat more than a few bites. <em>What is wrong with me? I've been free for a few days now and I'm still not able to eat properly. <em>Her stomach wasn't used to this kind of food anymore and if she would force herself to eat more she would definitely throw up.

"There is nothing wrong" he replied. "Then stop watching me! You do that every single time! That creeps me out!" she said. She looked at the apple and sighed heavily. "Your appetite will return. It's only a matter of time" he said suddenly.

"Oh….well…I guess, you're right. Still it's frustrating to see food and you're not able to eat it" she answered. For a while she was looking at him lost in thought. Then Anna sighed again. "There's no way this would work…" she said to herself.

"What wouldn't work?" Kratos asked. She lay down, crossed her arms behind her head and answered "Asking you questions. But I think I will try nevertheless. There is too much about you that doesn't make any sense. And I'm still worried that all this is some kind of Desian experiment….I'm also a little bit curious."

"You can ask me questions if you like, but I doubt the answers I will give you will be satisfying" he replied. Then he sat down and watched the little campfire, he had set up. "Okay, sounds like a plan. Well, then…what's your surname?" she asked with a faint smile. His eyebrows rose. "Why do you want to know something like that?" "I'm not going to travel with someone, if I don't know his full name. That would be just weird. Besides you know my full name, if you haven't forgotten it already."

"Aurion."

"Aurion? That's your surname?...Kratos Aurion…Hhmm…Yeah that is….It's not what I expected, but for someone like you it's quite…fitting."

"…"

"That's a very old name."

"Why do think that?"

"If you believe it or not I studied my whole life languages. And this language was mostly used during the Kharlan war. I hope you know that your name has a meani….Ahhhhhh! WHAT IN MARTEL'S NAME IS THAT?"

Anna jumped up and looked terrified at the huge dog like creature that had suddenly appeared behind her companion. It was just as big as a horse and had huge ears. Its fur was milky white, but on some places it was mint green. It huge paws were mauve. It was looking at her with its little grey eyes. It had a somehow curious expression.

Trembling she was looking at Kratos, who seemed to be not impressed at all. "I remember telling you to not let her see you" he said to the thing. "What…what is that? A monster?" she asked stuttering. "He is not a monster. His name is Noishe. He is…a dog" he replied, while pointing at the huge creature. "What? That thing has a name?" After a few moments she met him with disbelief and said "This is supposed to be a dog? Are kidding me? This thing is huge and it's green…and…and…" She stopped. _Why is this thing looking at me like it would know what talking about?_

"You should not talk about Noishe like that. He is able to understand you" Kratos said calm. "It…he can understand me?" Anna looked at the huge…whatever he was. Suddenly the animal had a playful expression. _I don't like this look…_ "Why is he looking at me like tha…" but before she could finish the sentence he jumped towards her. "Noishe, no!" Kratos told the creature, but it was too late.

Anna was already lying on the ground while the animal was licking her whole face. "Get off me! Get off me! GET OFF ME! DO SOMETHING!" Anna cried totally freaking out. "Noishe! Let her go immediately!" Kratos said. And he really did. Shocked she was just staring at the two. The huge animal was looking quite excited, while her companion was looking quite annoyed and a bit worried. "Are you alright?" he asked. "I was attacked by a…a…whatever he is that wanted to eat me and now my whole face is covered in spit! I'm far away from alright!" she answered angrily "Ewww! That is so disgusting!"

Anna wiped the liquid off her face. "He didn't want to be rude. I suppose he was just excited to meet you" he explained.

"Meet me? You mean this…this…animal has been following us?"

"Yes, and he is a dog."

"Yeah, right and I'm a summon spirit."

"You don't have to be afraid of him."

"How should I not be afraid of him? He's even more frightening than you are!"

"…."

"If you say dog, you…you mean that Noishe is your pet?"

"He is my friend, but if you want to call it like that…"

"You have a pet? You are not joking?"

"Why should I?"

Anna suddenly started smiling.

"Is something wrong?"

"No, nothing is wrong. It's just…that is so…human. You have a pet. A weird and scary pet, but it's still unbelievable. Not in my wildest dreams I would have expected something like that."

Kratos didn't answer. He looked like he didn't know to respond to that. Then she started to watch Noishe. He was looking at her with incredible cute puppy dog eyes and had an interrogative look on his face. _Oh, come-on! Don't be so soft-hearted! That thing will eat you! _ After a few moments she sighed and said "Maybe…when you promise me that he won't do anything…well, maybe then I put him out of his misery and pat him just one time."

"I thought you are afraid of him."

"Have you seen his puppy dog eyes? How can I possibly resist that?"

"…..Well, I'm sure he will behave."

"Okay, if you say so I will try."

Carefully she moved closer to Noishe, which seemed to be even more excited than before. Then she moved her hands slowly towards him and touched his forehead softly. _Oh Goddess! I'm going to die! _She opened her eyes and saw that Noishe's tail started to wag.

"Wow! His fur is so…soft."

"…."

"I admit it, he is kinda cute. But he is still scary."

"He seems to like you."

"Really? That would be the first time."

"First time?"

"That would be the first time that an animal would like me. Animals usually hate me."

"Hate you?"

"Sounds crazy but it's true. If I come close to a cat, dog or whatever they freak out and try to kill me. Well, not exactly killing but I swear they would scratch out my eyes if they would get a chance."

"…"

"Don't look at me like that! That's the reason why I never had a pet. It would have killed me in my sleep."

"I'm sure Noishe will not try anything like that."

"Well, I think I'll trust you on that. Fine,…he is really cute!"

She was patting Noishe now almost without fear, although she didn't feel completely safe. After a couple of minutes she moved away from him. "Sorry, but you startled me quite a bit. I'm still afraid of you,…Noishe" she said with little, but honest smile. The huge…dog seemed to be pleased about this explanation and laid down.

For half an hour she just watched the sleeping animal. It was already dark and the stars shone above them. _How can something so big be so innocent and sweet? He really behaves like a dog. But this is the strangest animal I've ever seen. I wonder what he is exactly and why he is able to understand every single word. He is just as strange as Kratos. Both of them are just surrounded by mysteries. …I'm not sure if I should trust him or not. _She stole a glance at him. _But in these ten days he never lied to me. Okay, that Noishe is a dog is obviously a lie, but except that he was always honest._

_But he is a Desian Lord, Anna. He has to be evil…or at least a bad person. But he did save you and helped you since then. And look at it the logical way: that thing on your chest feeds on the fear and the pain of humans. If this was an experiment, wouldn't there be more pain and fear? Besides when was the last time someone you didn't notice when someone was lying to you?_

_Alright, I guess I can assume that this isn't a Desian experiment, but if I'm right then that begs the question why is he helping me? He achieves nothing by saving me. It just doesn't make any sense! I'm just a human. Well, I'm also host body for a damn Cruxis Crystal, which could be quite powerful in a few decades. Isn't he sabotaging the Angelus Project by helping me? Why would a high ranked Desian Lord sabotage a project that could be the breakthrough at harvesting Cruxis Crystals?_

_Damn! The more I think about it the less I understand. Oh Martel, I did ask you for help but just killing the Desians would have been enough. It so frustrating not to know his reasons! So damn frustrating! _She looked at him again. _Goddess, he will drive me crazy in this one month, without even doing something!_

"What is it?" he asked, while looking at her. "What do you mean?" she said a bit confused. "You look like you want to say something."

"Oh, it's nothing."

"Well, then…"

"Oh my Goddess, I think I'll burst if I don't ask! Why are so kind?"

"Kind?" He sounded quite surprised.

"I'm not sure if it's kindness but why are you helping me? Fhew…Never felt so relieved after asking a question."

"I have my reasons."

"Could you please be more specific?"

"Why is it so important for you to know why I do it?"

"To know your reasons would make it easier to trust you or just to be grateful. I really would like to say "Thank you", but I don't know if it's appropriate."

"You don't need to be grateful."

"Well, yes I do. Even if you saved me, because of some selfish reasons it doesn't change the fact that you did save me. You have no idea how grateful I am, even though you are part of the organisation that caused me more pain than anyone else. And somehow you are the first person, who has been kind to me. At least you didn't lie to me."

"How do want to know that?"

"I'm…not quite sure how to explain that. I'm good at reading body language and well, I just…feel it. People are not too different from books. I just read them."

"…"

"…Are you using a Cruxis Crystal too?"

"Yes."

"That explains it."

"…"

"How you could kill the Desians so quickly, if you didn't know what I meant.

"…"

"I'm getting on your nerves, am I not? Well, at least that proves that I'm becoming my old self again."

"…"

"I guess I should just shut up."

Anna lay down and started to watch the stars. After her escape the whole world seemed to be more beautiful than she had ever expected. In the past few days she had been so excited. Everything she had seen had been so wonderful. The beauty of every small thing was just overwhelming. There was so much joy in her heart. She had been hyperactive before her time in the human ranch, but now it was just of the scale.

She sighed. There was just one thing that didn't give her peace. Her nightmares. She knew that she had a trauma, but Anna had never thought it would have shown like that. In the ranch she had been far too exhausted to dream, however now she was dreaming quit lively. She dreamt of death, torture and blood. Because of that she woke a few times every night. To be honest she was afraid to fall asleep, because in her dreams she was still at the ranch.

"Kratos? How…how much…" She couldn't finish the sentence.

"What is it?"

"No, never mind. It was just a question. It's not important." _Just ask, Anna! You need to know that! _"Well, actually it's important. …Do you know…how long it takes till a Cruxis Crystal…awakens?"

"Some decades to my knowledge."

"Do you know how long exactly?"

"No. Why do you want to know…"

"I wanted to know how much time I have got left, if I don't get killed before that."

"You don't seem to be surprised that the Crystal needs so many years to awaken."

"I already knew that. It was hard to miss that, when there are so many Desians around you just talking about the Angelus Project."

"…How old are you?"

"What…ahm…about 20. I'm not sure. I was…captured a few weeks before my birthday. That is quite an unusual question from you. Why do you want to know?"

"Because I wasn't sure. Sometimes you behave like an adult and then like a child."

And suddenly Anna giggled. This sentence was so odd familiar and reminded her of her past. Then she answered "Okay, now I'm convinced that you are not evil. Someone who says that about me can't be truly bad at heart. Everyone who knows me describes me like that, but it's so true. I'm just a very light-hearted person, without that I wouldn't have survived in the ranch. And what's better than to see the world through the eyes of a child?"

"I see."

"I'm quite the opposite of you. You are always so serious."

"…"

"Well, then I should sleep now."

"…"

"Hey, thanks for the talk. It's interesting talking to you, even though you barely say something."

Then she lay down again and within a few minutes she fell asleep. And because of that she didn't hear how Noishe barked and looked at Kratos. He just nodded and answered "You're right. She really is."

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><p><strong>To be honest I really like how this chapter came out!<strong>

**And if there's someone who is waiting for the love story, don't worry that is going to happen soon enough. But both of them have to earn this romantic moment. So it will take a little while.**

**Reviews are appreciated! **


	4. Journey

And welcome to chapter 4! This chapter is going to be a bit different from the others.

This is a summary of several short moments, which happened during the first month.

I could spend hours describing every single day, but that would be just boring and honestly I don't think it would help the story. Besides I really want that my favourite moment happens in the fifth chapter and that's not possible if I don't do it like that.

Ok, enough talk. Please enjoy!

**I do not own the characters or the locations of Tales of Symphonia.**

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><p>"So you are telling me, that if I want to do that either you or Noishe has to come with me?" Anna looked at Kratos angrily "That's the most ridiculous thing anyone has ever said to me!" "It's too dangerous alone" he replied. "Too dangerous? You've got to be kidding! Those ten meters I'm away from the fire can't count as being alone. And even if there were twenty Desians I wouldn't let you come with me!" she said a bit louder "Goddess, I have lost many things in the ranch but not my pride!"<p>

For a while she was looking at him, but then Anna came to the conclusion that she couldn't win this fight. "Fine! Then Noishe will come with me. Although he is a boy too" Angry she walked to the little brook that was flowing nearby. When she made sure that just Noishe had come with her she started to undress. "What the hell is he thinking? Too dangerous! Please! If I would want to, I could talk to him. And you Noishe turn around! You might be an animal but I know you're just as intelligent as a human and you're male."

Noishe seemed to be a bit surprised but turned around. Anna walked into the water and began rather quickly to wash herself. _At least he let me do it. I hope he's not getting any more paranoid. _She was very soon finished and then tried to get as fast as she could dressed. Anna was nearly finished. She was just pulling down her shirt over her head when she felt that Noishe was touching her back with his nose.

"What the hell are you…" she started, but fell silent when she saw how sad Noishe looked. "Hey, what's wrong?" she asked. The big animal pointed with his nose again at her back and whined. "What do you mean? Is something with my…Oh. Do you mean the scars?" The strange dog nodded. Anna knew that her back was covered in ugly scars and marks. She had seen them in her reflection. They looked truly horrible.

"Don't worry! They don't hurt anymore" she said softly while she was pulling her shirt down. But Noishe looked still sorrowful. "Honestly it's fine! You don't have to be sad. I'm not. Okay, I'm not happy about it, but I'm free and that's everything that counts" she explained smiling. She even caressed his forehead, although she was still afraid of him.

Suddenly he licked her face and instead of screaming Anna just laughed. "Okay, okay. I'm glad you're happy again, but please next time you do that warn me." Then Noishe looked at her like he was asking her how to do that. "I have no idea" she answered "But if I do I let you know." Then she smiled at him again. "I guess we should go back or my paranoid savior will lose it." And Noishe looked at her like he was thinking the same thing.

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><p>"Ouch! Would you please be more careful? I can take a lot of pain but I'm not made out of stone" she said, while Kratos was treating a cut on her arm. "That wouldn't have happened if you hadn't needled the Desian" he answered calm. Anna sighed and replied "I know and I'm really sorry! Like I said the last thousand times, but you heard me at the ranch. I can't just shut up."<p>

Earlier this day some Desians had found them and had tried to capture her again. They were ordered not to hurt her, but in the moment where one Desian had touched her, she had…well, kicked him in a very delicate spot and not enough Anna had said something quite inappropriate. If it hadn't been for Kratos, her arm would have taken worse damage. "And why aren't you able to stop talking?" he asked slightly annoyed.

"The truth?"

"If you don't mind."

"Because I'm afraid if I stop talking."

"Afraid of what?"

"I'm afraid of them. Of the Desians and Kvar."

"You never seemed to be afraid."

"But I am. I'm scared when I think about the things they already did to me and the things they could. They could take everything away from me. My life and myself. They could break my soul. And that's why I'm always talking, because if I'm talking I haven't got the time to think about these things."

"To be afraid is nothing you should be ashamed of."

And then she smiled faintly. "It's not that I'm ashamed of it. I'm afraid of being afraid, because if I feel fear the Crystal grows more powerful and absorbs a bit of my soul. I rather feel the pain of a cut than the burning of a growing Exsphere."

Anna smiled at him a bit longer and then looked at her arm. "You've finished! Thanks! You were faster than I thought." Then she saw his somehow concerned look. "What? Just because you don't answer my questions doesn't mean I can't answer yours. Besides you wanted the truth."

"It is just a very unusual answer."

"Well, I'm a very unusual person."

"You are indeed."

Anna giggled and answered "Like you were the one to talk. You are the strangest person in this entire world. A Desian Lord, who helps a human escape from the half elves, sounds pretty "unusual" to me."

"…"

"Oh, I didn't want to insult you. Actually it was a compliment."

"You didn't insult me….A compliment?"

"Well, yes. I mean "unusual" isn't bad. In this case it's good. At least your behaviour proves that no one is truly evil at heart. Well, except Kvar."

"How do you mean that?"

"If even a high ranked Lord of the Desians helps an insignificant human, than there is even kindness amongst the Desians. I mean I'm no saint. I hate Kvar and I hate the Desians that attached this thing to my chest, but in a very weird way I think I understand their reasons and that's why I don't think half elves are evil in general."

"You understand their reasons?"

"I guess they made me understand. I was treated…like dirt in the ranch and that's how humans treat half elves. If I would have been treated like this my entire life I would also feel that kind of hatred. But that doesn't excuse what they do in those ranches! No, not at all! They are just as bad as the humans that treated them like that. I somehow understand them, but that doesn't mean I forgive them. I saw too many people die. The organisation you work for has its reasons for hurting people, but I hate it and I think it's evil. But I just hate them and not all half elves."

"So you hate me as well?"

"No, of course not! How could I hate someone who saved my life for now…wait, let me count…three times? Please, to let me hate you, you have to torture me mentally and physically for over a year. Physically I don't see any problem, but after Kvar methods you have to be very creative to torture my mind."

"I'm impressed how you can turn every serious conversation into a joke."

"That's the nicest thing you ever said to me! Thank you!"

"That wasn't really a compliment."

"It wasn't? Sounds like a compliment to me."

"I give it up. You will just twist my words again."

"Awww…but it was just starting to get fun."

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><p>Anna looked at the little bridge and said a bit sceptical but mostly frightened "You want me to go over that old, decrepit bridge above a brawly ocean?" "Yes. It is the only way to Izoold." he answered calm.<p>

"But…but…I just…can't."

"You are able to escape from a human ranch but you cannot go over a bridge?"

"You've got that right."

"…If I go first, would you…"

"No way! Then the bridge will collapse right when I'm on it."

"If you go first…"

"But then I don't know if it's safe!"

Now her companion looked somehow desperate, frustrated and annoyed at the same time.

"Noishe could carry you."

Anna looked at him then at Noishe. Now she was even more frightened. _He must be kidding!_

"I'd rather swim to the other side than ride on Noishe. I'm not riding on something that is able to understand me. I can barely pat him." Noishe looked a bit insulted but right now Anna didn't care.

"…Like I said, that is the only way. The longer we stay here the bigger is the chance that Kvar's Desians will catch up. So would you please go over the bridge?"

"And if there were hundreds of Desians I'm not going over that thing!"

"Is there anything that will convince you that it's safe?"

"No, there's nothing….Hey, what are you doing? What the…?" But before she could do anything about it, he had picked her up and carried her over the bridge.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Anna shouted angrily.

"I'm carrying you over the bridge, since you are unable to pass it by yourself."

"Wait, over the br…" she looked down and saw the ocean below her.

"OH MY GODDESS!" Anna she screamed and suddenly clung to Kratos. "If I survive this I'm going to kill you" she mumbled trembling. He didn't answer. _This is embarrassing and insulting at the same time. Well, mostly embarrassing. No, totally embarrassing! Goddess, Anna! It would be so much easier if you would just be little bit braver! You are being carried by a Desian Lord how weird is that…and oddly comfortable._

"You can let go now. We are over the bridge." he said simply. "Oh! Yeah, right" she answered a little bit confused and even blushed when she realised that she was still clinging to him. When she was finally standing on her own feet again she said angry "I should slap you in the face right now!" "And what is holding you back?" he asked and he even sounded a bit curious. "Oh…ähm…well…because…because…Oh, I just don't want to. I would probably hurt myself rather than you" she said still embarrassed "But if you ever do that again you will regret it!"

"There was no other way to get you over the bridge. It wasn't my fault."

"Yes it was! You can't just carry a woman without asking! That's…not very polite."

"I will ask next time."

"No, you won't because there will not be a next time."

"…"

"…But still thanks. I would be still standing on the other side, if it weren't for you."

"…You're welcome.

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><p><em>Please stop! Please let me go! <em>"Leave me alone!" Anna said when she woke up. Another nightmare had disturbed her sleep. _Why won't this stop? It has been already three weeks since my escape. Why can't it get any better? _She looked at the sky and saw the beautiful stars, which were shining above her. It took her some minutes to realise that her face was wet. _I cried. I hope no one heard that._

Anna dried her face. In her dream she had seen the many corpses of the humans at the ranch. Far too many. She felt a light burning in her chest. It wasn't painful just damn annoying. "I hope you are happy now!" she said angry to her Exsphere.

"With whom are you talking?" a voice asked behind her. Startled she turned around and said to Kratos "How often do I have to say that? Don't sneak up on me! Do you want me to die because of a heart attack?" She sighed and asked "Why aren't you sleeping?" "I could ask you the same question." he replied.

"Yeah, you could. I woke up because of a…bad dream. Nothing special really. And why are you still up?"

"I couldn't sleep."

"First of all what a lame excuse and secondly how aren't you able to sleep after such an exhausting day?"

"It wasn't that exhausting."

"Oh right! I always forget that you use a Cruxis Crystal. This travelling must be not exhausting at all for you."

"Not particularly. If it is too much for you we could slow down."

"No, I'm fine. But it's nice that you ask."

"…You look worried."

"I do? Oh, well I was just reminded of how lucky I am. That's all."

"You mean your nightmares?"

"Nightmares? What do you…you mean you know that I…"

"You wake up every night. It's wasn't hard to find out."

"Oh…" Anna silently thanked the darkness, because he couldn't see how her cheeks turned red. _So much to letting no one know._

"Why haven't you said anything before?"

"You didn't seem to want to talk about it."

"Well, that's very…considerate."

"…"

"Where is Noishe?" Anna couldn't see him, although he was usually sleeping just beside the campfire.

"He is probably hunting some animals."

"Ahh…okay. Well, then I should try sleep now…and you should too. It's pretty late."

"I'll get enough sleep. Don't worry about that."

"Okay. …Hey, is there any chance that those nightmares will wear off?"

"It will take some time, but they eventually they will."

"Is there actually anything you don't know?"

"…"

"I'll take that as a "no"."

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><p>"You will fall if you climb up there." Kratos said, while watching Anna climbing up a huge rock. "Goddess, nothing is going to happen to me. I'm not that clumsy. Besides I want to know if I can see it already" she answered while rolling her eyes. After a few moments she was at the top. And not enough she stood up and tried to spot the village of Izoold.<p>

Now even Noishe seemed to be worried. "Would you please come down again?" Kratos asked. "Yeah, yeah. Just one minute. I'm trying to…Hey, I can see it! At the horizon. It's really, really small, but I can see it! Izoold!" she said excited while pointing in the distance. "We will be there in a few days. And now come down" he told her and he seemed to be quite worried, that she would fall of. "Okay, okay. I'm on my way. You really need to relax" Anna stated when she was finally climbing down again.

But when she was half way down, one of her hands slipped and she fell. And was caught by him. "I told you, you would fall" he said to her. "No, you said I would fall from the top. I was already climbing down" she answered and folded her arms before her chest "There's a difference."

"You would say anything to prove me wrong."

"Well, maybe. But even you can't be always right."

"I can't, but I was right when I told you, you'd fall of."

"Yeah, got it. You're all knowing. Still it wouldn't hurt you to be a little bit less serious."

"I'm not so sure about that."

"Give it a try. You'll see that it's fun."

"I'll think about it."

"Okay. Ähm…Kratos?"

"Yes?"

"You can let me down now. I promise I won't fall over my own feet."

"Right" he said and let her down. "That was the first time you forgot something" she meant. "I didn't forget that I was holding you" Kratos answered.

"No, I meant that you forgot that you had to let me down."

"Is there a difference?"

"For a woman there is."

"…"

"Sorry, I'm just teasing you."

"Hmpf…"

Anna just smiled and flattened her clothes. "So…" she started "in a few days we arrive at Izoold?" "If nothing unexpected happens" he answered calm. "Well, then let's hope nothing happens" Anna answered smiling.

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><p><em>If I had only known that in this few days everything and I mean EVERYTHING would change.<em>

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><p>Well, this chapter didn't take long and it was so much fun to write.<p>

Reviews are always welcome!


	5. Truth and Lies

Here it is! My favourite chapter! Chapter 5! God, I really do love it!

I'm trying to be as realistic as possible and for everyone who asks "Isn't it weird that she does that?" (You will know what I mean when you've read it) I say, she was really, really desperate. And in terms of the romantic part: This is a destined couple and just deal with it, I can't wait any longer! (I've got too many couple scenes in my head!)

Hope you'll like it! (As much as I do)

**I do not own the characters or the locations of Tales of Symphonia.**

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><p>"Are you religious?" Anna asked Kratos, while they were walking through a small forest. "What?" he asked confused and after a few seconds she realised, what she had just asked. "What a stupid question! Of course you're not! You can't believe in a goddess that sends a chosen to destroy the Desians. Sorry, I really didn't think about that questions" she apologized quickly.<p>

"Are you?" he asked. "Well…" she jerked her shoulders "I guess I am. I mean I do believe in a goddess and everything, but sometimes it's quite hard to believe. Right now it's easy, but back then at the farm I always wondered what kind of goddess Martel has to be to let so many people suffer. I suppose she can't do everything for us. Although it's not hard to say that right now when the sun is shining and I hear the birds singing."

Anna smiled and stretched her arms. "When we are already talking about the sun and everything, did I ever properly thank you for all that?"

"What do you mean?"

"What do I mean. Pff…Of course the whole saving stuff! Did I ever say "Thank you" for that?"

"You mentioned that you are grateful."

"Once again. Did I say "Thank you"?"

"No. But isn't saying that you are grateful the same thing?"

"No, of course not! There's a huge difference! But now that I know it I can catch up on that."

And she suddenly just hugged him and not only Noishe seemed to be absolutely surprised. "What are you doing?" he asked a bit confused. "That's my way to show gratitude. And now shut up!" Anna took a deep breath and said "Thank you for saving me! Really thank you! I can't describe how grateful I am!" Then she smiled and just continued walking.

"That was unnecessary. I didn't save you because of the kindness of my heart."

"Don't care. I'm alive, am I not? That's the only thing that matters to me. Besides you didn't only save me, you also helped me to get away. That deserves my gratitude selfish reasons or not."

"I will never understand your logic."

"Don't worry. Sometimes even I don't understand it." Anna smiled at him again. For a while she played a bit with Noishe. She had almost lost her fear towards him, but still refused to ride on him. Then she asked "Hey, since you are here with me isn't there someone who wonders where you are? I mean someone of the Desians?" She had been thinking about that for a while, and found it strange that someone like him could just disappear.

"Actually there a several persons who are wondering where you are, Kratos" a voice said behind them "But finally I've found you." Anna saw how a figure stepped out of the shadows and in the moment she could see his face, she knew that something very bad was going to happen. It was a man, a half elf, with long blue hair. He wore a long and dark cape. His sharp eyes were watching mostly Kratos but almost curious he looked at her for a brief moment.

"Did you really think Yggdrassil wouldn't send someone after you? Especially after you said that you wouldn't help him to build up "The Age of the lifeless Beings". I didn't expect you to be that naïve" he stated. _Who is Yggdrassil? Wait…What does he mean by "Age of the lifeless Beings"?_ She looked at Kratos then at the stranger. "I was hoping that he would leave me alone after I said that I don't want to be involved into such foolish plans. But since he sent you, Yuan, I assume he doesn't intend to just let me go" he answered calm. "That's the last thing he would do and you know that. So why are you behaving like a child and came down on this world?" the half elf, Yuan, wanted to know.

_Came down on this world? What the hell is he talking about? _"Because Mithos is wrong. What he is planning to do is not what Martel wished for" Kratos answered and sounded even a bit angry. _Mithos? Martel? _Now Yuan seemed to be little bit surprised about that answer, but said "That might be true, but that doesn't explain this" he pointed at Anna "It would be different if you had just saved some human but saving the Angelus-Project and even protecting it from the Desians is something very unusual for you. Kvar is desperately looking for his growing Cruxis Crystal and I doubt that he is getting any sleep right now. And not enough all the other Grand Cardinals are looking for it since they think that a Cruxis Crystal of that kind could get them a promotion. They are all quite excited." _Shit! Not the other Grand Cardinals too!_

Anna could just stare at the two. There was something very weird going on and she had the feeling that one wrong move could kill her. Kratos didn't answer. Then Yuan shook his head "Talkative like always. Anyway, I've come take you back to Derris Kharlan and return the host body to the Asgard Ranch. I should also mention that Mithos is quite furious. So better think of a good excuse." _No…Not back to the ranch! Not back to Kvar!_

But then something happened that neither Anna nor Noishe and not even Yuan expected. She didn't even see the move, she just saw Kratos' sword that was pressed against Yuan's chest. "What are you doing?" he asked angrily and surprised. "I do not intend to go back and I will offer resistance if you should try to force me" he stated with his calm and cold voice. _What the hell is going on? What are they talking about? What is he doing? _Confused she just looked at the men. Noishe beside her seemed to be extremely tense and also worried. She could understand him perfectly.

"You are really serious about that….I didn't expect something like that. In that case I will have to report that to Mithos" he turned around and walked away "But this will have consequences. I hope you are aware of that." "I am" Kratos replied and watched how Yuan disappeared. Then he sheathed his sword and started to walk again.

"We have to hurry" he just said. Anna was too shocked and confused to ask any question and just followed him. She nearly had to run to keep up with him. She looked at Noishe, who seemed to be equally worried, but didn't look confused at all. Was she the only one who didn't know what was going on?

Anna had no idea how long they walked silent. At least for some hours. This meeting had changed something. She had no idea what, but I was something vitally important. Finally she had enough and stopped Kratos. "What was that?" she asked angry. "Just some new problems" he answered.

"Just some new problems? Do you think I'm stupid? That was so much more than just new problems!"

"That was something you don't understand."

"Yeah, you're right! I don't understand it and do you know why? Because this Yuan said things, that didn't make any sense! What is "The Age of lifeless Beings" and who is Yggdrassil? And why did he say you came down on this world and why did he say that he wants to take you back to DERRIS KHARLAN? Why? Derris Kharlan is the land where the Kharlan War was ended, isn't it? How the hell can he take you to this place?"

"You should just forget what you heard."

"No! NO! I'm sick of not knowing what's going on! I want you to answer me! I want you to explain me what he meant! I demand an answer!"

"Trust me. You don't want to know."

"I. Don't. Trust. You. Isn't it enough that I followed YOU! Someone who lets so many people suffer! Who let me endure a year in hell! I deserve an answer! And damn you are going to give me one!"

"You don't want hear it."

"Let me decide that! I want to understand what is going on. Please tell me!"

"Even if I told you, you wouldn't believe me."

"Maybe, maybe not. I just want an explanation!"

"Believe me you don't want to know."

"JUST TELL ME! I DON'T CARE IF I DON'T WANT TO KNOW IT OR IF IT WOULD BE BETTER IF I DIDN'T KNOW! I WANT AN ANSWER!" Anna yelled furious "and you better give me one!" For the first time Kratos looked like he didn't know what to do. He hesitated for the first time. Then Noishe twitched her shirt. He wanted her to calm down and his eyes told her the same thing that Kratos did. She didn't want to know. _What can be so big that they are desperately trying to hide it from me?_

She took one deep breath "Look. I don't want to know just because I'm curious. I'm already involved in all this. I'm the…and I hate to say that…Angelus Project. And not only that the fact that you saved me draws even more attention to me. Besides I'm so sick of the fact that nothing makes sense anymore! I want to understand what's going on!"

"If I tell you, there will be nothing left that will make sense to you."

"Let that be my concern. Okay?"

"You wouldn't be able to live a normal life anymore."

"Hello? I got a Crystal attached to my chest that is sucking out my life! My normal life ended a year ago."

And before he could say anything else she stated "Don't even try. There is nothing you can say that will change my mind. If you haven't noticed already I'm very stubborn when it comes to certain things." They looked at each other for a couple of minutes.

Then he closed his eyes and said "Alright, I will tell you, but you have to promise me that you won't interrupt me till I have finished." She just nodded. "But like I said, when I have finished you are going to wish you wouldn't know."

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><p>For an hour she had listened to the brutal truth. After ten minutes she had started to shake her head. Always repeating in her thoughts that it couldn't be true. That all this had to be a lie. Something like that mustn't be true. But although it was so horrible to hear, so horrible, it made sense. It was so damn logical! But she still refused to believe it.<p>

For now over twenty minutes she was kneeling on the ground and cried. Her whole world was crumbling down. "This…this…can't be true" she said "This…is…impossible! This has to be lie!" Noishe was sitting next to her and was trying to comfort her. It didn't help. "You don't have to believe it if you don't want to, but it is true" Kratos simply replied.

"Don't you think I'm trying to do that? But…but I can see it in your eyes! I can hear it in your voice that you tell me truth! This whole story…it is too complicated and yet far too logical to be a lie. Everything makes sense…even…even if it's horrible! And even if I couldn't see that…you are the proof! Everything that the Desians did is a proof! Every horrible action makes now sense. But…but…but…"

Her sobs grew louder. "But now nothing is true! Everything I believed in is just one big lie! There is no goddess! There's nothing! The whole Journey of Regeneration is meaningless! Everything that gave me hope that let me survive my time in the ranch is a lie! There's nothing left I can believe in!"

"I never said that you would like to hear it. You wanted to know the truth and I told you the truth" he said still serene. "Do you think that helps me right now?" she shouted furious and jumped up "But now I want to know, why? Why did you save me? Why wasn't it enough to just kill the Desians?" Her whole body was shaking, while she was saying that "Why should…why should…a four…thousand…year old…angel…save me?"

He turned around and answered "If Yggdrassil wants an "Age of lifeless Beings" than he has to produce an enormous amount of Exspheres but mostly Cruxis Crystals. But till now the production of these Crystals causes many problems. That's why Kvar is so proud of his project. If your Cruxis Crystal should be a success, the results of his research would help to improve the harvesting of the Crystals. I thought that if I would save you the Angelus Project would fail and that would prevent Yggdrassil from achieving his goals."

Anna, who was still crying, answered silently "Don't you get it? You can't stop my Cruxis Crystal from growing. Nothing in this world can. You don't stop him! You are just wasting time! The only way to stop the Angelus Project is to…" And suddenly she realised that there was a solution for her misery. A way to end this slow death. Something she always had in mind since her first day in the ranch.

She stepped closer to him, so she could look into his eyes. Then she said, and sounded even more serious than him in doing so "If you really want to end the Angelus Project then you have to kill me."

"WHAT?" And Kratos sounded more shocked than she ever believed he could.

"It's the only way! This thing is bound to awaken! If you want to do something then end my life! I don't care. I don't want to die a slow and painful death like I would in the ranch. And now I know all that I don't see why I should live. Even if I wouldn't know, for me there is no going back. Everyone that I loved believes I'm dead anyway. So it wouldn't make any difference. And I…and I…don't want an "Age of lifeless Beings". It sounds horrible even more than the rest of the truth. You could do it fast. I wouldn't feel anything. And then you would have the time to really do something to stop him."

He looked at her like she had gone insane. "Do you realise what you're talking about? You can't mean that!" But she remained serious. "Do you know how often I wished for my death? Just that all this ends?" Anna pointed at her chest "Do you know how it feels, when something is eating you alive? Do know the burning, when your soul and your Mana is taken away from you? No, you don't! I lost the fear of death a long time ago, but now I'm terrified that someday this thing will not be a part of me, but that I become a part of it! Please, do it!"

"You are just shocked. You don't know what you are talking about."

"Oh, I'm not? Then just tell me one reason for me to live on."

"…I can't."

"See? Ther…"

"I didn't mean that. I meant that I'm not able to end your life."

"Wha…Don't be ridiculous! You killed plenty of Desians with ease."

"That's not the same."

"You're right. It's not. Because I'm asking you to do it."

"I'm not going to kill you."

"Why? You said, you wanted to end the Angelus Project and that is the only way. My DNA is the only one, which is compatible. If you kill me, then Kvar will never be able to harvest a Cruxis Crystal."

"You are not going to change my mind."

"I…I don't understand. Why can't you? What is holding you back?"

"You are confused and shocked that's all. Tomorrow you don't want to die anymore."

"THAT'S NOT TRUE! I ALWAYS NEEDED SOMETHING TO HOLD ONTO TO SURVIVE. SOMETHING I COULD LIVE FOR. BUT NOW EVERYTHING IS A LIE! GIVE ME ONE THING THAT IS TRUE! SOMETHING I CAN HOLD ONTO. SOMETHING THAT ISN'T A LIE!"

Anna fell on her knees again. That was too much for her. Torture she could have handled, but not this. Her whole worldview was destroyed. Tears were running down her cheeks. She had never felt so…betrayed and so helpless not even in the ranch. She saw how he kneeled down and then without any warning Kratos leaned forward and kissed Anna.

_What the hell is happening? _she thought more surprised than shocked. Was this real? Was he really kissing her? Or did she just hallucinate? …But this felt very real! His hands held her face and while her eyes were wide open his eyes were closed. It was soft kiss. A gentle kiss. She would have never expected that he would kiss like that. And still no one had ever kissed her like that. It was kiss that didn't ask for something. A kiss that just told her how he felt. Nothing more nothing less. He didn't expect not even asked for any kind of reaction. A hopeless kiss, but still filled with emotion.

Then he let go. "That's why I can't kill you" he said and his voice was still calm and serious, but there was something else in it. Something she couldn't describe. And before she could think of anything else to do, she slapped him. Really hard. It had been reflex. She couldn't have stopped it even if she had wanted to. To be honest she really had wanted to. "Like I said at the bridge" she said "You can't do something like that without asking."

And then she kissed him. She didn't know exactly why she did it. There were several reasons: A part of her wanted to try to taste this kind of kiss a bit longer, another part just wanted to see how it was to kiss him and there was a small part in her that told her that it was the right thing to do.

_Anna, what are you doing? Since when do you kiss strangers? Well, you've know him for a month so basically he isn't a stranger anymore. Still…you…shouldn't do that. You are…just desperate…like he…said…_

But then for some seconds she just stopped thinking and kissed him differently. A bit more passionate. Maybe even little more than she actually intended. Finally she stopped and moved away. It was embarrassing but it took her several moments to catch her breath. She turned around, so she didn't have to look at him. She didn't want to see his expression. Actually Anna didn't even know what she should expect. The only thing she knew was that she had to break that silence, which was worse than anything else.

"So, let's see if I got that right" she said, trying to change the subject "Four thousand years ago Mithos the hero split the ancient world into two pieces in order to save them. Sylvarant and…and Tethe'alla. But…after his sister Martel was killed he lost it and since then he is trying to resurrect her and grant her, her final wish. A world without discrimination. To be able to do that, he created with you and this…Yuan the church of Martel and the Desians to control both worlds. And the Journey of Regeneration is actually a way to create a vessel for Martel and to change the Mana flow. With other words to save one world and to destroy the other. But that has failed till now. And now he is trying to create an Age were no one has a soul anymore and turns into the same lifeless creature. Right?"

She didn't wait for his answer. "But you disagreed and came down from Derris Kharlan, which is apparently a whole planet floating over this one, to Sylvarant. Then you stumbled on me and my Cruxis Crystal. And so I became involved in all this." Anna shook her head. "Damn! Damn! Damn! Not only that I was chosen for the Angelus Project, no a FOUR THOUSAND year old Angel thinks saving me is the key to stop his mad leader! How great are the chances for that? Less than zero probably! I am the unluckiest person in this entire world…no, the unluckiest person of…both worlds."

"Do you feel better?" Kratos asked behind her. "No! I feel betrayed, hurt, helpless and totally stupid….And I have a headache" she answered angry. "Do you still feel the urge to die?" he asked serious. "Well, I…I'm not sure to be honest. I'm so confused and I don't know what I should think about all that. I don't even know what I feel right now anymore. There are too many emotions. And you didn't help me by…doing what you did" she replied and blushed. At least he couldn't see it.

"I…" he seemed to think about how to answer that "answered your question."

"Answered my question? That's the first time someone called it like that. You…well, kissed me. There's no reason in denying that."

"I didn't deny it" he answered, and she could hear in his voice that he felt more and more uncomfortable.

"When you say it like that, it sounds like you would regret it" Anna said and there was a faint smile on her lips.

"I don't regret it." _Well, that was a fast answer!_

"Hmm…Sounds like the truth. In that case I guess, I can admit that I don't regret it either. It was a pretty good kiss, if I may say that."

"What?"

"Wow! You really sound surprised! That's actually a bit cute" she said. Then she stood up and turned around. He was looking at her with an expression she couldn't define. "Well" she came a bit closer "you "answered" my first question, but there is one thing where I need…to find the answer myself. So please let me try just one thing without freaking out, okay?" "What do you intend to do?" he asked and seemed to be a bit worried. Now she stood only a few inches before him "It's just…that I want to answer one of yours. Even though you were so selfless and polite that you didn't even ask."

Then she leaned forward and kissed him again. She felt, that he was…quite surprised. But she had to do it. She needed to know what she felt, while kissing him. The first both times she had been too confused and distracted. Now she could focus on the kiss. Well, at least she was trying to. It was surprisingly hard to think at all. Then Anna even deepened the kiss with one hand. It was only for some moments, but that was more than enough to answer her question.

"That…That was pretty interesting" she said with light red cheeks. And suddenly a bright smile appeared on her face. "You are so damn lucky! I hope you now that." "…What do you mean?" he asked. Kratos seemed to be a little bit overstrained. "You are so lucky that women always fall in love with their saviors, even if they are…angels. It's such a cliché, but I'm afraid it's true" she answered still smiling.

"Would you…please repeat that? I'm not sure I understood you right", he said and he looked so surprised and confused, that it really was kinda cute.

"You heard me and besides you told me something that was….way more complicated and you didn't have to repeat that. …I thought you wanted to hear that. But if I misunderstood something…"

"You didn't…misunderstand…"

"Then I don't see the problem."

"Are you sure…"

"I am sure. Do you really think that I kiss someone like that without a very good reason? And before you ask, no it's not because I'm so desperate that the whole world is a lie. I admit, there are…a few questions that you will have to answer me, but apart from that… You really don't want to hear something good, do you?"

"You don't care?"

"Care about what?"

"About Cruxis, the Desians, everything…"

"Oh, that! To be honest I'm still angry and I feel betrayed and helpless. But…well, call me naïve, but I'm not able to see you that way. I mean you never hurt me or anything. Although…you are still…a bit scary."

"You did understand that I'm responsible for the misery of both worlds. I'm even responsible for your suffering at the ranch."

"…So you started the Angelus Project, captured me, dragged me to the ranch and attached this thing to my chest?"

"You know what I mean."

"Sorry, but when it comes to such things I blame the ones that actually DID something to me. …Are you trying to scare me off? Or do you want me to blame you for everything that happened to me?"

"…"

"…Well…okay I admit that it would be so much easier to have someone to blame for all this. And it's not like I wouldn't care at all, but since I kinda…like you I'm not disaffected to try to understand. I'm not saying that I won't blame you for anything, but maybe I will be…convinced to forgive you. And so far you've made a good impression."

She suddenly sat down and groaned "Damn! This is so confusing! In the morning I thought the world was a nice place and I was glad that I wouldn't have to see you much longer and now the whole world is filled with lies and manipulation. And then I say I have a crush on you. This is the weirdest day ever! Shit! Couldn't you have kissed me tomorrow instead of throwing everything at me tonight?"

"You begged me to kill you. I had to do something."

"And of everything you could have done that came to your mind?"

"…" He looked somehow…in a very weird way embarrassed.

She sighed. "Well, at least a lot of things make sense now. Still…there are so many questions left."

"You are sure that you don't want to die anymore?" Kratos asked still worried.

"…I…am sure. Nevertheless I'm feeling hurt and very, very stupid in some way. And my headache is killing me."

"Sounds alright."

"Have you ever had a headache? I'm not alright."

"You are worried about a headache?"

"Do you want me to be worried about the other things? Because if I do I might start begging for my death again." She smiled a bit.

"…"

"Of course then you would have to calm me down again so it wouldn't be all bad." Now Anna's bright smile reappeared.

"If you are able to say something like that, you are fine" he stated.

"I wouldn't say fine, but basically you're right" she answered. Then she saw Noishe, whom she totally had forgotten. He looked so surprised that she nearly had to laugh. Then something crossed her mind. "Before I can sleep and try to handle all this" she said "There's one thing I need to know." She looked at him and then Anna asked "What exactly is Noishe?"

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><p>It's done! Oh my god, that was so hard! But I'm really proud of it.<p>

And for everyone who wonders, it's not an accident that the sentence "I love you" wasn't in it. (Falling in love isn't the same for me) Anna isn't sure yet if she really loves him. And well Kratos…okay I confess in my version he fell in love with her at first sight and already loves her, but he wouldn't say those three words, when she's so desperate and confused. And I think it's much more romantic if it takes some time till one of the two says it.

I would really, really like some reviews for this chapter!

And thanks for reading!


	6. New Beginning

Welcome to chapter 6!

And instead of talking to no end and explaining this and that and blah blah blah I will jump right into the story.

**I do not own the characters of the locations of Tales of Symphonia.**

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><p>Anna was sitting on a small rock and was watching the rising sun. It was quite warm for such an early hour. Well, for her it was. She had never been this far south. The wind rustled through the leaves of the small trees behind her. Anna could see the ocean. The sun painted the water red and orange. It looked like the sea was burning. The sight of the water somehow comforted her. She had always loved water, of course for someone who grew up in Luin that wasn't very unusual.<p>

There were already some sea gulls flying over the water and their clamour filled the air. _How peaceful! I can't remember the last time I've seen something that beautiful! _She smiled and leaned her head a bit forward to feel the sunshine on her face. After her time in the ranch every small thing even if it was completely trivial was a new experience. Sometimes Anna felt like a child that saw the world for the first time. And today this feeling was stronger than ever.

Last night everything she had believed in had turned out to be a lie. Two worlds instead of one and damnation where salvation should have been. An Angel had told her all this and that didn't make things easier. _This angel will make everything even more complicated! _Yeah, complicated was the Angel that lo…liked (she didn't even dare to think that word without being sure that it was true) her too much to kill her would cause her definitely some problems.

She sighed heavily. "How am I supposed to get through this if I don't even have a goddess to talk to? He shouldn't have told me that" Anna snuffled "Don't blame him! You wanted an answer! He gave you one. Still…" She shook her head and watched the waves of the ocean for a while. _To think that all this wasn't created by a goddess…It's so strange and hard to believe. But…everything he said about angels, Desians and even the chosen one made sense. Although it's more complicated than everything I've heard before._

She ran her fingers over her lips. _Kissed by an angel… _She smiled faintly _I always imagined that in a different way. _To be honest she had dreamed about that kiss, quite a lively dream actually. Of all things she could worry about that was the thing that bothered her the most. Well, rather that was the only problem she could solve right now, although problem wasn't the right word for it.

That wasn't the first time someone told (or rather showed) her how he felt, but this time it had been…slightly different. For the first time Anna had no idea how to handle that. She didn't even know if she felt the same way! And that made it even more complicated than it was already.

_Okay, think about it logical. What do you know? He's a four thousand year old angel who is a founding member of the organisation that is basically ruling the world…s. Do you like him? Yeah, I guess I do. Do you think that he's attractive? Well, in a way…alright, maybe he is a little bit more attractive than the average. Do you feel comfortable around him? Yes, I do. Do you feel save? Yeah, I feel safe. Okay, now the most important question: Are you happy around him?...Actually…sometimes…I'm even able…to forget for a while…what I've been through…_

_Ahh…screw logic! Emotions are not logical! You know it when you know it! _Anna stood up and stretched. The sun was shining and the last clouds vanished. It was going to be a wonderful day with a perfect blue sky. She turned around and wanted to go back, but then she saw Kratos standing behind her. She would have fallen if he hadn't caught her. "Damn! Why do you keep doing that?" she asked angrily "I told you to stop that! My heart always skips a beat when you sneak up on me!"

"What are you doing so early in the morning?" he asked instead of answering her question. She rolled her eyes and replied "I woke up early and I wanted to think about…certain things before we start travelling again." "It is quite unusual for you to be up so early" he answered. It was really rather unusual for her. She had always been a late riser with the amazing ability to sleep anywhere anytime (despite the nightmares).

"Well, I just slept well and…" Anna suddenly stopped. "_I didn't have a nightmare…_" she whispered surprised. She realised that everything what she had heard yesterday had been so much that in her head there hadn't been space for a nightmare.

"I…I slept…through!" she said, while her smile was getting bigger and bigger "I…didn't dream of the ranch or Desians or…or Kvar! The first night without a nightmare!" Now Anna was just…laughing. That a simple undisturbed sleep could cause happiness like that was quite unbelievable. Suddenly she just hugged him, because for her there was no other way to express her joy. "This is so unbelievable! A night without those horrible memories! I…I can't describe how happy I am right now!"

She kept babbling like this for a while. Then she let him go. Anna wasn't laughing anymore, but there was still a bright smile on her face. "What were we talking about? I guess I forgot it" she asked him. Kratos seemed to be so surprised that he wasn't able to answer for a while.

"I asked you what you were doing so early."

"I was thinking about…well, everything you told me last night."

"Did it help?"

"After thinking about it for a very long time I came to the conclusion that I'm screwed." And she said that still smiling.

"And why are you so happy about that?"

"Hmm…good question. Well, does this knowledge change my situation at all? No, it doesn't. Okay, if someone of…Cruxis would find out that you told me that it would be different, but right now it doesn't matter actually. I'm still a host body and I'm still running away from Kvar. I just have now a little…background information. I mean my whole worldview was destroyed and everything, but well, I have to except that."

"Yesterday you thought about that differently."

"You're right. But now I've calmed down. I still feel betrayed and everything, but I'm no longer…overwhelmed. But don't think I'm letting you get away this easily. I have millions of questions and you better answer them."

He looked at her with his usual calm look then he asked "You said that you are screwed. What did you exactly mean by that?" _Oh dear! Not this topic!_

"Well, I…I…I have no idea what I should do now. Until yesterday I thought it would be enough just to get to Izoold and to live on, but now…I think it's not enough."

"What do you mean?" Kratos sounded confused.

"I'm not sure how to explain that. Now that I know all this, I see everything differently. Like you said I'm not able to live a normal life anymore….And…I would feel so…guilty if I would just…leave."

"Guilty? Because of what?"

"Because of…you. You are…what you've said and what you've done, it's holding me back. I don't know what I should think or how I feel about it. And until I know I can't leave."

He just turned around and answered "There is no reason why you should stay with me. You owe me nothing." Again she rolled her eyes. _Melodramatic as ever!_ Then she walked around him, so he could look into her face.

"And exactly because you say something like that, I'm not going. You sound so sad when say something like that. Actually you always sound sad no matter what you say. Like only living is a burden for you. For example when I said that I…like you; maybe even a bit more than just like, you looked like you…you…well, like you wouldn't deserve that. You behave...different than any person I've ever met."

And slightly she touched his left cheek with her hand and smiled. _It's a bit strange. His skin feels warm and yet cold_. _Like the warmth of his body was held back. Weird… But if feels nice! Quite nice! _"But of course if I'm getting on your nerves too much, I'll leave. I promise." Then she made a step backwards and said "We should get going. It's still not a short distance till we arrive at Izoold. And the sun already rose."

After a few steps she realised that he wasn't following her. "Are you coming?" she asked "I mean I can find the way to Izoold by myself now but travelling alone is so boring. And you know how I hate boredom." Anna looked at him with a curious look. _Why does he look so thoughtful? Well, more thoughtful than usual._ Then Kratos answered "What you've said to me doesn't make any sense, no matter how long I think about it."

Anna smiled and said "Actually what I said is quite normal for a human especially for a women. You seem to have problems to understand me particularly when I say something nice to you. We should work on that." She turned around and started walking. "And maybe I'm willing to explain you what I meant later. Although that depends on how you answer my questions." Now Kratos followed her, but, quite silently, he said to himself "Is there actually anything in this world that could get her down for longer than just five minutes?"

"Did you say something?"

"No, nothing."

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><p><strong>Just a little information there will be a bit of Kratos' point of view now. But still it won't be completely his point of view. I don't like to write it like that completely, because I have absolutely no idea what a four thousand year old angel is thinking.<strong>

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><p>"So….What's the difference?" Anna asked after half an hour of walking "I mean the difference between humans and angels especially…how was it called?...Seraphim!" Kratos was walking beside her. Anna was walking backwards so she could look into his face and see his reactions to her questions.<p>

There was a soft breeze and Anna's chocolate brown hair streamed out behind her. Her sharp, hazelnut eyes were watching him closely and made him feel a bit uncomfortable. It always felt like she could see right through him. This strange feeling like she could read his mind. Not even the look of Yggdrassil had that effect. And in a way her somehow curious look forced him to answer. Her most annoying ability. "Angels have neither feelings nor human needs. They are empty to a certain extent" he answered.

"No emotions? Really? How does that work?...And what do you mean with "human needs"?" Anna asked surprised. She tilted her head like a bird giving her already soft face an even sweeter look. He sighed. "The Cruxis Crystal attached to their bodies absorbs their soul taking everything that is alive away. Due to that fact they lose their ability to feel, to eat and to sleep. They are lifeless. They don't even think."

"But you aren't like this! You feel! You aren't lifeless! And you think more than ever person I've ever met."

"That's because I'm a Seraph."

"And what's the difference between a Seraph and an angel?" She sounded impatient.

"I use a key crest and that prevents the Crystal from taking my soul. …But except that there's no difference if you don't count the difference in power."

"Wait a minute! Are you saying that for four thousand years you haven't been eating or sleeping?"

He just nodded.

Anna's eyes widened. She seemed quite shocked. "Oh my g….That's….I can't…believe it! How did you survive that? I would have gone insane after a few days!"

But before he could answer her, she said "But…does that mean you don't feel as well? You have emotions, I know that, but do you feel the warmth of the sun or the touch of….my hand for example?"

She looked confused and worried. And there even was a hint of sadness in her eyes. "No, I do feel things like that. They are just not as intensive as you would feel them." The truth was that her touch was more intensive for him than anything else. A slight burning remained where she had touched him. It was strange and confusing that a simple human could cause this kind of feelings.

A smile appeared on her face after he had answered her. It was a…pleased smile. A reaction that was for him more than just unexpected. "Well,…that's good to know. I mean…at least that proves that I was right about you the whole time. You are no human, well, rather not completely."

"And you are proud of that?"

"…Maybe a little…" Again she smiled. How could someone who had been through so much pain smile that often? "Hey, could you please tell me more about the Giant Kharlan Tree? That was the only thing that didn't sound horrible and devastating. And I find it fascinating that this fairy tale is actually true" she asked, while running her hand through her hair.

"To tell you everything I know about the Giant Tree would require a lot of time" Kratos answered "And I doubt you have a long enough attention span." "Hey, that's mean! I can focus! Okay, I admit sometimes I don't pay attention when you say something, but if I want to I can keep listening for hours! Besides it's not my fault that I'm not listening when you always talk about something depressing" she said a bit angry and a bit amused. "If you say so…" he answered "I will tell you."

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><p><strong>Since everyone who is reading this should know about the Giant Tree I will spare you a long explanation that would probably be a whole page long. Besides I have better a use for this space. So consider this insert as a little time skip.<strong>

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><p>"Wow! That was a lot!" Anna stated after he had finished. Kratos didn't answer. He seemed to be as gloomy as yesterday, after he had told her the truth about this world. "Has anyone ever told you that you have an incredible calm and pleasant voice?" she asked to change the subject.<p>

"Not that I remember."

"But you have! I can keep listening to it for hours and I don't say that because I have to" Anna said giggling. But she was completely honest. After some moments looking at his face she meant "You don't believe me, do you? But I meant that." Anna looked at him a bit longer, sighed and said "You are hopeless! Why don't you believe me?" "I never said that I wouldn't believe you" he answered.

She rolled her eyes and sighed. "You know what I meant. You just don't want to hear something nice!" Kratos didn't respond and Anna groaned. "I'm trying to have a conversation with you, but that doesn't work if I'm the only person who is talking!"

"And what do you want to talk about?"

"Anything! But this silence is just horrible!"

"What's wrong about silence?"

"Well,….alright there's nothing wrong about silence, but it's boring!"

"You are very easily bored."

"You would be too if you had so much energy as I have."

"I highly doubt that."

She giggled.

"What are you laughing about?"

"I've just imagined you excited about something."

"And that amuses you?"

"Yeah, it does! You are always so serious and…let's call it thoughtful. To imagine that you would be excited about something is just very…amusing."

"It's something very unlikely. You're right about that."

"…When was the last time you actually were excited or happy about something?"

"I can't think of something right now."

Now Anna looked insulted and angry. Very angry!

"Oh, really? You can't remember a single past event that would have caused you joy?"

"What do you…"

"I mean this!" And without any further warning she kissed him. Kratos really wasn't used to something like this! Her lips on his causing a burning feeling that spread through his whole body.

Anna had intended to kiss him briefly and then to slap him right after that, but she…wasn't so angry at him anymore. _Damn! You wanted to stay furious! That you let him get away this easily…A bit more self control wouldn't hurt you! _But she didn't feel the need to stop the kiss and enjoyed the feeling a bit longer.

This woman was the most incalculable person he had ever met. Someone who was shouting at him in one moment and in another kissing him. Confusing was a far too small word for this situation. For some moments his thoughts stopped then she let go.

"So…you are saying that you felt nothing when I kissed you yesterday?" she said still angry, but not as furious as before. Her cheeks were slightly red and even though she tried to repress it a smile played on her lips.

"I…" And for the first time he really had no idea how to answer that.

Her eyes widened. "Oh my…You are…you are speechless! You aren't able to answer that! This is so…no, there's no word to describe this!" And her anger vanished and now she was laughing again. "I can't believe I'm actually saying this, but you're somehow really cute."

"…"

"I know, I know! I shouldn't call a four thousand year old angel…sorry, Seraph, cute, but it describes you so well!"

"Could you please stop that?"

"Does it really bother you that much that I…"

"No, not this. I mean…distracting me. I'm still responsible for your safety. And something like this is not exactly helping me to focus."

He had expected her to be insulted, but a grin appeared on her face.

"So you mean that I make it for you impossible to concentrate?"

"Yes."

"Interesting. I could say the same about you and I don't complain."

"What?"

"And I did it again. I'm sorry I can't help it" Her smile was playful. "You are flattering me when you say something like that. I guess it's pretty hard to distract someone like you."

"You shou…"

"No, now you're listening! Do you really think I'm able to actually stop distracting you? Let me tell you something: I'm not able to do that, because when you're in love, and I think you are, you are always distracted by this person. This is just a normal human emotion that can't be helped. I mean I could stop kissing you, but, now be completely honest, do you really want that?"

There came no answer.

"That's what I thought. What's so bad about it anyway? And before you answer I promise that I won't _distract _you for a while. Alright?"

"Alright."

They started walking again. "Although…"she said after a few seconds "I can give you no guarantee that, since I'm a simple human being, my mind won't lose the control over my body."

"You really enjoy doing this, do you?"

"You mean teasing you? Yeah, it's great fun!"

And suddenly she fell on her knees. A terrible burning spread in her chest. _Shit!…Not this again! Why now? I didn't feel any negative emotion!_ Anna felt how some old scars were torn open. The Crystal had done that quite often in the past especially when her time in the ranch hadn't been as painful as usual. It was trying to cause more pain and to absorb more energy. This thing was not pleased with the amount of energy it was getting right now. In moments like this she was reminded of the fact that the Exsphere was alive and…thinking. It happened suddenly and it couldn't be prevented. The burning vanished after a few moments. Only leaving the pain of her open wounds.

"Are you alright?" Kratos asked and sounded more concerned than ever. "Yeah,…I'm…alright. The…Crystal does…that sometimes. It's…it's nothing to worry about" she answered, but didn't sound very convincing.

"You are bleeding" he said. Anna looked over her shoulder and saw, that her shirt had several crimson red spots. "Oh…well, that's normal. Everything will heal on its own" she replied.

"I should take a look at it…"

"NO!" she said shocked and moved away from him. No, he shouldn't see her back. It was enough that Noishe knew how disgusting it looked like. No one should see it! "I…I mean can't this wait till tonight? I'm sure it will be fine then. Like I said, it's nothing to worry about."

"Are you sure? It looks quite serious."

"I've been through this quite often. It's nothing."

"I really should…" but after a second he moved his hands towards her back she stopped them. "Please, don't! Trust me; it's not necessary to treat my back. It really isn't!" she said insistent "It can wait till tonight. I had worse wounds. It doesn't even hurt." Kratos didn't look convinced, but he answered "Alright. I'll wait until tonight."

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><p><strong>Okay, that's really not a good cliff hanger. I'm not even sure if I can call it like that. But this chapter is already quite long.<strong>

**Anyway, reviews are appreciated and thanks for reading!**


	7. Scars

And here comes chapter 7!

Wow, never thought I would make it this far! Okay, this chapter starts a few hours later after chapter 6 ended.

Please enjoy!

**I do not own the characters or the locations of Tales of Symphonia.**

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><p>"Noishe! I said turn around!" Anna said angry to the huge animal. She was standing in the waist deep creek beside a few high rocks, which gleamed in the moonlight. "It was hard enough to stop Kratos from following me! Please don't force me to bathe in my clothes." It had been really hard to stop Kratos from worrying about her back. But somehow she had managed to come here alone. Well, at first she had been alone. After a few moments Noishe, who had been absent the whole day, had shown up.<p>

For a while she looked at her reflection. Her back was covered in scars and her front was disfigured by the Cruxis Crystal. Veins spread from the Crystal and were slightly pulsating. _Disgusting!_

Although there wasn't much left, that could be blemished. She wasn't so skinny anymore, but…_It's useless to beat about the bush, Anna. You just don't look like a woman anymore! _With her left hand she angrily hit the surface of the water. Her figure never had been perfect, but she had looked…nice. And now there was nothing left. _Anna, just be happy that you're still alive and free! To be upset about something this unimportant is ridiculous!_ Still she couldn't prevent that one tear ran across her cheek.

"Hey, be glad that those cuts are nearly closed" she said to herself. Like she had predicted her cuts hadn't been a serious wound. "_All this fuss about nothing_" she whispered, while she kneeled down. Then she dove her head under water. For some moments she enjoyed the hollow silence that covered her than she emerged. The water was pleasantly warm. She just sat in the water for a while. But then slowly a strange feeling overcame her. She felt like she was being watched.

Anna turned around and saw only Noishe, who was just sitting there. She looked into his eyes and noticed that he was avoiding eye contact. "I know there's something wrong, Noishe. You look so guilty. Don't you want to tell me what's wrong?" But he didn't do anything. She rolled her eyes. She had an idea what it could be. _Really? Doesn't he trust me at all?_ She asked "Noishe would you be so kind to bring me my clothes?"

He seemed to be surprised, but came to her nevertheless. Noishe handed Anna her clothes. He wanted to go, but suddenly she said "No, stay. Just don't look, okay?" Now he seemed to be absolutely confused. And covered by Noishe she dressed. It was a bit hard to dress while standing in water, but she managed it somehow. Some of her clothes were a bit wet however that didn't bother her. "Thanks, Noishe!" she said and patted his forehead. His tail wagged. _He's getting cuter and cuter everyday _she thought smiling.

"Well,…" she stated a bit louder "mind telling me why you are watching me?" She was still patting Noishe, but she was looking at the trees, which stood beside the creek. "I know you're there, Kratos!" she added. And he really appeared.

"How did you know…"

"That you are there? I have a good instinct, that's all. So why were you watching me?" She stayed calm, although she could have been furious right now.

"You didn't let me treat your back and I had to make sure it was nothing serious."

"And instead of trusting my words that it was nothing to worry about you came here?"

"Yes." Anna really wasn't in the mood for a fight. If any other person had done that she would have yelled at him for at least half an hour. "Man, you are so lucky that I know that you are really just worried about me. If anyone else had done that this person wouldn't be alive anymore."

"…"

"And how long have you been watching?"

"I assure you that I just saw your back."

Her eyes widened. Then she blushed and looked away. To be honest any other answer hadn't bothered her so much. She would have been angry, that was sure, but she wouldn't have been so…embarrassed and ashamed. And then some tears were running down her cheeks.

"Are you crying?" Kratos asked. He sounded shocked. "No, of course not! Don't be ridiculous!" she wiped the tears away "Why should I? You just wanted to check whether I'm okay or not. No big deal." But Noishe beside her started to whine. Angrily she whispered "_I'm trying to convince him that I'm alright! You are not exactly helping me right now!_" Now Noishe looked more worried than before and his whining grew even louder. Frustrated Anna rolled her eyes and walked out of the creek.

"Even if your pet doesn't believe me I am okay!" she said insistent, but for the first time she avoided eye contact. She didn't want to look into his eyes, because her expression would have given her away. Anna always knew when someone was lying, but she was a terrible liar herself. She just walked past him towards their camping place. _Great, Anna! Try to act more suspicious!_

After some steps Kratos stopped her. A bit surprised she looked at his hand resting on her shoulder. "I apologize if I should have hurt your feelings, Anna" he said earnest. For a few moments she was quite confused. He had just said…sorry and her name. Kratos called her by her name very rarely. And the fact that he did use her name told her that he really meant what he had just said. "My…feelings?" she said silently while turning red "You…don't have to be sorry. You did nothing that could have hurt my feelings. Don't worry you didn't hurt me in any way." She smiled at him. "To be concerned about my safety is something that will never be able to upset me."

She continued walking. _How can someone who is that serious and scary be so sweet and considerate? How? _When she arrived at their camping place she sat down and watched the fire. Kratos stood a few meters away and was looking at her. Again there was this awkward silence. "I really should treat your wounds" he stated after some minutes. Anna groaned and let herself fall back on the ground. "That is so unnecessary! I. Am. Fine! Those cuts are nothing more than scratches."

"They could get infected."

"Oh, please! I spent a year in a human ranch and not a single wound got infected there."

"That doesn't mean it couldn't happen now."

She turned her and looked at him. He was a bit closer than before. Then she crossed her hands before her chest and said "You can try it if you want, but I'm going to resist if you should try to treat my back. And I'm sure you don't want that." He sat down beside her and answered "I don't necessarily need to touch you to treat those wounds." Anna frowned and sat up.

"What do you mean?"

"There's the alternative to use a healing spell."

"Healing spell? But humans can't use…Does being an angel allows you to use magic?"

"Not…exactly. But I'm able to use magic."

She looked at him for some minutes. Her look was thoughtful and serious.

"And this healing spell would heal those cuts?"

"Yes."

"And you don't have to touch me or my back?"

He nodded.

"And if I let you do that you finally stop getting on my nerves?"

Kratos sighed. "Yes."

She narrowed her eyes and said "Then I guess it's alright."

Anna sat there a bit frightened. She had seen magic, but it always had been a spell to hurt her or other humans. To be honest she hadn't known that magic could heal as well. She didn't look at Kratos. She didn't want to see him while he using magic. There was part of her that feared she would be afraid of him if she would see that. Anna was looking at the ground. Her companion was still sitting beside her, but she didn't know what he was doing right now.

Suddenly strange glowing lines appeared on the ground. Anna recognised Elven-runes, but after a while the light was so bright that it hurt her eyes. But she didn't close them. Then some strands of her hair started to move in a soft breeze, which was caused by the spell. It was quite frightening yet exciting at the same time.

Eventually she couldn't resist and looked at Kratos. He looked like…always. He looked normal, except the fact that he was the center of the glowing lines on the ground. And then for a split second she saw a green light and she felt how the light pain of her cuts vanished. After that everything was like before.

Anna looked at Kratos, who was watching the fire. She opened her mouth to say something, but closed it again, because she didn't know what to say. She realised that Noishe was lying a few meters away the fire and was watching both of them. She watched Kratos for a bit longer. He looked gloomier than ever. _He looks so sad. But why?_ Then very slowly Anna came closer to him till she was just a few inches away from him.

"You know" she started "at first I thought you were the scariest and the most boring person in this entire world and I thought there was no way I could trust you." He was still watching the fire. The flames were reflected in his eyes. "But…you proved me wrong. You are not…boring, actually you are more interesting than anyone else I know and I'm not afraid of you anymore. In fact I feel quite comfortable around you. And to be honest I started trusting you quite a while ago. Even before you told me everything."

She looked at the moon, while running her hand through her hair. "Why did you tell me that?" he asked. Anna closed her eyes and answered with a faint smile "I thought that's something you should know. You told me the truth and now it was my turn. Besides…you look so sad and I wanted to cheer you up. And I thought saying something nice to you would work."

"…"

"Thank you for healing those cuts. …Although it was completely unnecessary."

"…"

"Are you mad at me?" she asked suddenly. Anna looked at him a bit curious and a bit worried. "No. What makes you think that I am?" he replied a little bit surprised.

"Well, you…talk even less than usual and if you say something it sounds so…upset. And…and you don't look at me. You don't look into my eyes. Did I do something wrong? Have I said something…inappropriate?"

"No, of course not." But he was still not looking at her.

"…Oh." Suddenly Anna sounded so sad like never before. "Then I know what's wrong." And she moved away from him. Now she was only looking at Noishe, who saw her gloomy expression. He came closer and touched with his nose her shoulder to comfort her, although he didn't know why she was sad.

"Anna, what's wrong?" he asked concerned. "It's…it's…Torture and abuse leave their marks. I can't do anything about this fact. But I know very well how it looks like. I'm not blaming you. I think my _body is disgusting too._" She had whispered the last words.

"Disgusting?" he sounded like he wouldn't believe what she had just said. _How the hell did he hear that? I whispered! How did he do that? _He kneeled down beside her and asked "What should be disgusting about you?" His question sounded honest. She turned her head away from him and mumbled "The scars, the crystal, everything."

"What you say is ridiculous." And while he said that, he sounded…amused. How unbelievable it may was it was true. Surprised she looked at him. He looked like always but his eyes were maybe not so serious as usual. But she wasn't sure.

"I'm just not used to be around a human. That's all."

"…You are…you're just saying that to make me feel better."

"If I remember correctly you said that you always know if someone is lying to you."

She looked at him for a while, then she said "You…you…You play with dirty tricks! That's unfair!" Then he just slightly shook his head. And Anna's eyes widened in disbelief.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Did you…did you just…smile?" she asked while staring at him.

"I didn't pay attention."

"But you did! You smiled!" Anna sounded absolutely shocked. "How is that possible? You can't smile or can you?"

"I am able to smile. I just don't do it very often." He rolled his eyes while saying that.

"You smiled. You really did." Anna was more talking to herself than to him. Then she looked at him. "So you really are just not used to human company? And you are not bothered by my…scars at all?" Again her last words were very quiet.

"Yes."

"…Alright. I will believe you." She hesitated, then she said silently "You don't realise it, but you are more human than you think."

And right in the moment when Kratos wanted to stand up she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. Both fell on the ground. And for a moment she forgot everything around her. Then she moved her head a bit back so she could catch her breath, but her arms stayed where they were. Anna looked at his quite surprised face and said "I know, I know. I promised to not _distract _you for the rest of the day and I'm sorry. But what you've just said was so incredible sweet that I couldn't resist. And your smile didn't help my self-control."

"You…don't have to apologize. But would you please let me sit up?"

"Let me think about that. …No. I feel quite comfortable right now and I don't intend to move. Besides how do you ever want to get used to human…my company if not like this?"

"Still I would like to sit up."

"Aww…Really? But this feels so nice."

Kratos sighed. "I give up."

She rolled her eyes and said "You sound like I would torture you."

"This could count as torture."

"Yeah, being kissed by a woman is surely painful." Anna leaned forward and kissed Kratos again. Perhaps it was just her imagination, but she believed that his reaction was a bit stronger than before. Then she said smiling "And is the pain unbearable yet?" "I wouldn't describe it like that" he answered.

Her smile became a bit brighter. She sighed. "I don't like to say that, but I have to go to sleep now. It was a quite exhausting day and the Exsphere didn't help. But when I think about what happened yesterday, it was a surprisingly nice day. At least I didn't beg for my death."

She let him go. Then she stretched her arms. Kratos was standing again. He looked not as gloomy as before. _At least some kind of reaction _she thought smiling. And before she lay down she said "By the way if I should ever again catch you while watching me bathing I'm going to cause you some real pain. Good reason or not."

"I'll keep that in mind."

"Alright. Good night then."

"…Good night."

After she had fallen asleep Noishe looked at Kratos, who was watching her. "What?" he asked after he had noticed Noishe's look. The Protozoan barked silently and pointed with his nose at Anna. "I don't know what you mean" he said, although both of them knew that he did. Now even Noishe rolled his eyes and lay down beside the woman, which had, after a single month, mixed their lives totally up.

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><p><strong>Hope you enjoyed reading this chapter!<strong>

**Reviews are always welcome!**


	8. Farewell?

Hi and welcome to chapter 8!

Actually chapter 7 & 8 were just one chapter, but it was just far too long and kind of exhausting to read. So I split them up.

**I do not own the characters or the locations of Tales of Symphonia.**

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><p><em>Mental note to myself: Don't ever again let Noishe sleep beside you!<em> thought Anna still trembling. The sight of a huge fur ball had quite startled her, especially when it had been the first thing she had seen, after she had opened her eyes.

She looked to the sky. The sun was shining, but on the horizon there were dark clouds and a rough wind was blowing. "Looks like an upcoming thunder storm" she mumbled. Now Noishe woke up as well and yawned. "Morning, sleepyhead!" Anna said smiling. The animal barked and touched with his nose her cheek.

"Noishe, remember when I told you that I was afraid of you?" He nodded. "You know, I really like you, but I'm still a little bit afraid of you. So please make sure that when I wake up the first thing I see isn't a huge Protozoan." The last word sounded a bit proud. Actually Anna was quite proud that she knew what Noishe really was, but there was no way she would admit that.

He looked at her and a bit sad he nodded. "Oh, don't give me that look! I said I like you. But you intimidate me a little. You're like Kratos. Frightening and adorable at the same time. Okay, adorable is the wrong word for him. Well, I would say he is cute."

Noishe didn't seem to agree.

"Fine. You know him the longest. How would you describe him?"

He whined.

"Yeah, that sounds fitting. He really is always sad."

Now Noishe shook his head.

"You didn't mean that? Then what?"

Noishe looked quite frustrated.

"I'm sorry, but it's quite hard to understand you. You have to show me what you want to say."

Noishe whined again and desperate he lay down.

"Okay, we are not getting anywhere. Can't we agree that he is exactly the opposite of me?"

For a moment he seemed to think about it than he nodded.

"Alright. It's settled then." She smiled and caressed Noishe's forehead. After some minutes Anna looked around. "Where is he, by the way?" Noishe's ears twitched then he pointed with his nose behind her.

She turned her head, but she couldn't see him. "Even if he doesn't sleep why is he always somewhere else?" Noishe just jerked his shoulders. Anna sighed and stood up. "I hate being up so early. Even with the nightmares I would like to sleep longer." Last night her nightmares had reappeared. But it hadn't been that bad. _I can live with that._

Anna walked in the direction Noishe had pointed. After she had walked past a few trees, she could see some fields and the ocean. And even though the horizon was covered by dark clouds the sun was shining as bright as yesterday. He stood just a few meters in front of her. The wind played with his hair, making it messier than it already was. One hand was resting on the hilt of his sword.

She made one step forward. "Are you trying to sneak up on me?" Kratos asked without looking at her. Anna smiled and answered "No. Not this time. Besides I doubt that it's possible to sneak up on you. At least for a normal human being." She came a bit closer. "Usually I would ask what you are doing so early, but since I know that you can't sleep at all…"

"That's not correct. I simply don't require sleep, that doesn't mean I'm not able to do it."

"Oh. Then why don't you do it?"

"It's just not…necessary."

"I don't get your point."

"What do you mean?"

"Just because something isn't necessary doesn't mean you shouldn't do it. Most of those things are fun to do. I wouldn't give up my sleep."

"Even though you are haunted by nightmares?"

"Yes. I mean the ability to escape reality, even if it's just for a few hours, is something I would miss dearly. Don't you miss it?"

"No. Not really."

"Okay, now it's official. You spent way too much time being an angel! I don't care how long you were parted from this world, but forgetting how it is to be human is too much!"

"I didn't…"

"Oh, you did! I bet you don't even know anymore how it feels to be asleep. That's it! I'm going to teach you how to be a human again!"

"I don't think that this is a good idea."

"It's a great idea and it's not like you have a choice in the matter anyway." Anna smiled and Kratos sighed. She looked at the horizon and said "It's going to rain pretty soon."

"We will arrive at our destination in time."

"Our desti…You mean Izoold?"

"Yes."

"Oh…That's…good. …You really did keep your promise. Unbelievable that you endured my company for a whole month. You're tougher than I thought. I'll go and get my stuff then." And before he could answer she disappeared behind the trees. _Are we really this close to Izoold? Are we? _She thought while she headed to the camping place. _You wanted to stay till you know how you feel about all this, but be honest: Do you know it? The answer is no. You are as clueless as you were at the beginning. Two days are not enough to know something like that. And you know that he won't let you stay any longer. Why should you? You have no reason…right?_

"Two days are just not enough…" she mumbled while she was packing. Noishe sat beside her and looked worried. Then Anna looked at him. "Today I have to say goodbye to you. We will arrive at Izoold very soon." The Protozoan looked absolutely shocked. "I'm going to miss you. You are first animal that didn't want to kill me. …Hey, Noishe what are you…" Suddenly the huge animal jumped at her and nailed her to the ground. Whining he licked her face. She smiled a bit sad.

"Like I said, I'm going to miss you too, but please let me stand up."

The animal shook his head energetic. "Just because you won't let stand up, doesn't mean I'm not going to leave."

He didn't move.

"Noishe, look. I…I can't stay. Kratos said he would escort me to Izoold and he did. He kept his promise. I can live a normal…mostly normal life and I'm sure I wasted enough of his time."

Noishe's whining grew louder. He licked her face again. Then Noishe looked at her like he wanted to convince her that she was wrong about what she had said. "Noishe please stop that! If you don't I believe I'm going to cry." He didn't stop. She sighed and asked "You are going to miss me that much?" The Protozoan nodded.

"Noishe, I really enjoyed being around you two. I really did. You and Kratos were the first two…persons who were kind to me since I was captured by the Desians. I will never ever forget that. And maybe…there's a part of me that would like to stay with you…with him. But let's be honest a human staying with a Seraph and a Protozoan? There's no way this could end well. And it's not like you don't have something to do. I don't want an "Age of lifeless Beings". So you better think of a way to solve that problem. If I go, it will be the best for everyone."

_Decision made. You go. That's the right thing to do. Finally you do something smart. _He licked her face now a bit more gently.

"Are…What are you doing, Noishe?" Kratos asked. He stood a few meters away, and seemed quite surprised. "Finally you are here!" she said relieved "Your friend here doesn't want to get off me and I'm not able to push him away. Please help me!" He came closer. "Noishe, would you please get off her?" But the animal shook his head. "Noishe, you have to let her go." For some seconds the Protozoan looked like he wanted to resist, but then he whined and got off her.

"Thanks! I started to think I would never get away" Anna said while standing up. "Have you said anything that could have upset him?" Kratos asked.

"What? Why do you ask?" But then she saw Noishe, who was looking quite angrily at Kratos. Anna had expected that he would look at her the same way, but Noishe looked at her with the same friendly expression like he always did. "Don't look at me like that. I didn't say anything. If he's angry at you then it's not my fault. I'm totally innocent" she said to Kratos "You know him better than I do. Find out why he's mad."

She looked at the horizon. _The clouds are nearly black! _"Shouldn't we get going? I don't want to be outside when it starts raining." He nodded. _I have the feeling that this is going to be most awkward and most uncomfortable day of my life._

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><p>The morning was unusual quiet. Normally Anna filled the silence with questions or just babbling, but today she didn't feel the need to say anything at all. The only thing that was different was the fact that Noishe kept walking between her and Kratos. He really wasn't in the best mood, but he seemed to be only angry at Kratos, which confused not only her.<p>

After the fifth time she had nearly fallen over Noishe she said angrily "Okay, that's it! Noishe I want you to stay at least one meter away from me. I can't even walk without tripping over you." He whined and really kept his distance. "Much better!" she sighed relieved.

"What are you going to tell them?" Kratos asked.

"Tell who what?"

"How are you going to explain your relatives how you came this far?"

"Oh that. Since I doubt you will enter Izoold I'll just tell them a mercenary let me tag along."

"And you think they will believe you?"

"Sure. Why shouldn't they? Besides I was gone for a year. They believe I'm dead. I don't think they care how I managed to survive."

"I suppose you're right."

"Don't worry about me! I can take care of myself. If you believe it or not I'm no damsel in distress."

"I never said that you are helpless."

"Pff…but you act like I was. You are far too overprotective. The only time I was hurt during this month, was when the Desian cut my arm. And even though it was just a little cut you acted like my whole arm was cut off."

"I certainly did not…"

"My point is that I'm not made out of glass. I survived a year in a human ranch. I'm tougher than you think."

"You are surely more resistant than the average human."

"You make it sound like I was a machine."

"We're there" Kratos said and stopped. Surprised Anna saw the village of Izoold. She was just a few hundred meters away. _Wow. I'm so close. Only a few minutes and then I am a normal human again. _For a while there was just an uncomfortable silence. Then Anna said "So…do you want the long farewell or the short one?"

"You have a short and a long version?"

"Of course! What do think I've been thinking about all morning? But I admit I would prefer the short one. The other one is just so…long. And I really don't want to be outside when it starts raining."

"Then just the short one."

"Alright." Anna took a deep breath. "First of all…Do I owe you something?"

"No, you don't."

"Okay. …This is harder than I imagined. But since we haven't got all day" she looked at the ground, unable to look into his eyes "Again thank you for saving me…and bringing me here…and well…" Finally she could look at him "Thanks for telling me the truth. I really…appreciate it even though it destroyed my whole worldview and everything. Well,…Oh and I'm sorry for causing you trouble, whatever you count as trouble." She sighed. "And before you start, you don't have to say something. Besides I'm sure you would ruin the mood if you would." Now she even smiled faintly.

"Okay, I guess that's it. Like I said the short version…" She turned her head away and ran her hand through her hair. "Hey, where's Noishe?" Anna asked a bit surprised "He was the next one on my list." She couldn't see the Protozoan anywhere. "I don't know, but he can't be far away" Kratos replied.

And suddenly Noishe appeared out of nowhere. As soon as Anna saw his face she knew that there was something wrong. And in the moment where she saw how Noishe looked at Kratos she knew what was wrong. Frustrated she groaned "You've got to be kidding! Desians? Here? But the closest ranch is the one near to Iselia! And even that's really far away!"

"I don't think they are from the Iselia ranch. Judging from Noishe's tension they are…"

"…from the Asgard ranch." Anna finished his sentence "So close! So damn close! It's just like the last time. Just when I think I'm safe Kvar's Desians show up! Fate hates me." She sighed frustrated. "And did he tell you where they are exactly?"

His expression was enough explanation. "Let me guess they are exactly there, where I wanted to go a few moments ago?" she asked bitter. "I'm afraid that's correct" Kratos stated simply. "You are so damn lucky that I know that you are a Seraph and not a Desian Lord. Otherwise I would kill you right now" She closed her eyes for a moment then she said "And have you got a clue what those Desians are up to?"

"For me there's nothing left, but to find out" he answered while looking at Izoold. Anna rolled her eyes "I suppose that means I will have to wait with Noishe till you've finished…"finding out"?"

"Yes."

Anna sighed again. "Okay. Then Noishe and I find better a dry place, because I'm sure this is going take a while. …Fate really does hate me."

Just when Kratos wanted to go, Anna said "Hey…be careful, okay? Don't get yourself hurt."

"There are just Desians. They don't pose a threat."

"Still. As strong as you are, you are not invincible. …Just say that you will be careful, so I won't worry."

"Alright. I'll be careful."

"Thanks." And just slightly she touched his arm. Then Anna turned around started to walk in the direction they had come. Noishe was walking beside her and even though he tried to hide it he was quite happy. "Seems like I will have to stay with you for a bit longer." And her companion started to grin.

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><p>"Shouldn't he be here by now?" Anna asked Noishe frustrated. The Protozoan lay in the little cave he and Anna had found. It was pouring and that was quite fitting for her mood. Noishe was watching a more and more worried Anna, who was going up and down. "I know I know he has to find us first, but usually it doesn't take him that long. He said that he would be careful, but he only said that to do me a favour. Are you sure that there were only Desians and not someone or something else too?" Noishe nodded like the first ten times she had asked that questions.<p>

"I hate waiting and hoping everything will be alright! I feel more useless than ever! Even if something happened to him I couldn't do anything about it. I wouldn't even know it" she sighed and looked into the clouded sky "Please be alright! Please!" Noishe barked silently to calm her down. Anna took a deep breath. "I know I'm overreacting. It's just…I'm so worried! I can't help it."

The animal stood up and came to her. Then he licked over her hand. She smiled. "Thanks, Noishe!" The young woman took a deep breath. "I have to calm down. Freaking out won't help anyone." For a few seconds it looked like she would manage to calm down, but then she said quite nervous "You are sure that he's alright? I mean no one is perfect. Like I said he isn't invincible. Oh man, I'll lose it if he doesn't show up very soon!" Noishe rolled his eyes. "What? Aren't you worried at all?" He looked at her for some minutes with a certain expression. Then she turned red. "I got it. I know how I must sound like. I'm just worried that's all."

For a while both sat there in silence. Impatient she patted Noishe's forehead. _At least I'm not alone…_Then suddenly the Protozoan turned his head to the right and his tail started to wag. Some moments later Kratos entered the cave and after a split second Anna hugged him. "There you are!" she sighed relieved. "You sound quite…glad" he answered surprised.

"You were so long gone. I thought something happened to you."

"Hmpf…I told you that those Desians pose no threat to me."

"That didn't keep me from worrying about you. Better don't ask Noishe what I did the whole time." The Protozoan's expression was explanation enough.

"…You should let go now. I'm drenched with rain."

She giggled. "You really look like a wet cat." Then with one hand she wiped some strands of his hair out of his face and smiled. She moved away, but with her left hand she pulled him deeper into the cave to the little fire. "So…" Anna sat down and tried to dry the wet parts of her clothes with the warmth of the flames "Did you find out what the Desians wanted?" He didn't sit down and he didn't answer, but his eyes told her the truth. Smiling she said "The Angelus Project, I guess. And judging from your expression I suppose it's impossible for me to go to Izoold, without being captured."

He sat down. "How can you say that smiling?" "I'll tell you reason maybe later, but what are we…are you going to do now?" she asked. Kratos looked into the fire without answering her question. "…Well, if you don't know it yet just take your time and decide. This storm is still going to last for some hours. And…Oh my g…! Is that blood?" she asked shocked. On his right hand she saw definitely blood. "That's not…my blood" he answered. But nevertheless she came to him and took his hand.

"What are you doing?"

"Checking if it's really not your blood."

"You don't believe me?"

"You would say anything to calm me down" she said a bit absent minded, while looking at his hand. After some minutes Anna said "Okay. It's really not your blood." Due to the fact that he was completely sodden the blood was washed off after some moments.

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><p><strong>Very short switch to his point of view.<strong>

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><p>She was still sitting beside him and was holding his hand. Anna's hands were warm, leaving this strange but familiar burning on his skin. She sighed, but it didn't sound sad like he would have expected. It sounded content. Then she turned around so he could look into her face. For a while she looked at the ground like she needed to find the right words. Her cheeks were slightly red and a smile played on her lips.<p>

Then Anna said "You know…I don't…mind…if I have to…stay…a little longer. I mean…you said that you would…stay till I'm…safe and right now…I'm not…really safe. …I just wanted to let you know that….Never mind! Forget I said anything!" She said the last part quite fast. And before he could even think about what she had just said, Anna took his right hand and moved it towards her face, until his hand touched her cheek.

This felt very…different. He could feel how her breath stroke over his hand. Warm and soft. Before he could say something she said smiling "I just wanted to try how this feels. …Sorry! I should have asked you." But she didn't move a bit.

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><p><strong>Back to her point of view.<strong>

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><p><em>This feels quite good! Far better than I imagined! <em>She saw his expression and giggled. "Why do you look so shocked?" Anna asked. "Shocked is the wrong word. A bit surprised fits better" he answered calm. Her smile became brighter. "I guess you are not used to…physical contact. Don't worry next time I'll warn you." She let his hand go, but for a split second his hand stayed where it was, before it moved away.

Anna looked at his drenched clothes. "Aren't you going to take your clothes off? They won't dry like this. You could catch a cold." They looked at each other for a moment. She sighed. "But since you are a Seraph you can't get sick."

"Yes."

"Still…isn't that uncomfortable to sit there in cold and wet clothes?"

"Not really. Like I said I don't feel those things as intensive as you do."

Anna rolled her eyes. "But they won't get dry if you leave them on."

"They will. Why do you want me take them off so badly?"

Now she blushed. Her cheeks had never been so red before. "It's…It's not what you think! I was merely worried about your health, but since you are no normal human it…does sound a bit strange, I admit that. …And maybe I'm interested how you take clothes like these off, because with all those belts and everything I have no idea how you could do that. But that's it! Really!" She turned away and tried to hide her red cheeks. Noishe watched her amused. _This. Is. So. Embarrassing! But I really was only worried!_

For a while no one said something. This time it was Kratos who broke the silence. "You do realise that I wasn't implying anything by my question?"

"I know you wouldn't do something like that. But it sounded like you did. I simply defended myself. It was just a normal human reaction. And could we please drop this topic? I feel…a bit uncomfortable.

"…"

"…Thanks. And I really was just worried."

"I thought you don't want to talk about it anymore?"

"You're right. I don't." Carefully she looked at him again. She sighed relieved. He looked like always. _Okay, that's over._ Anna turned her head to the fire and watched the flames for a while.

Suddenly there was the loud sound of thunder. Frightened by the sudden noise she jumped up and would have fallen on the hard ground, but Kratos had caught her just in time. "Are you afraid of thunder storms?" he asked. "Usually not, but it seems that this day was more exhausting than I thought" she answered.

"We didn't walk…"

"I meant mentally exhausting not physically."

"And what did…"

"Well, first of all Noishe startled me in the morning. Then I thought the whole morning long that I have to say goodbye to you. After that the Desians showed up and then you were so long gone, that I nearly…Ähm…You get the point."

"…That you nearly what?"

"Do you have to ask that? It's not interesting anyway…"

He just turned his head away. "You give in quite easily. It's not like I wouldn't like that, but it's a bit strange tough."

"I see no reason in questioning you about things you won't answer anyway."

"Pff…If I would use that kind of logic, we wouldn't be talking at all."

"…"

"And you do it again…"

"What?"

"You always stop talking when the conversation is getting interesting. I said I like your voice! Use it more often!"

"…"

"Kratos!" she said quite angry and frustrated.

He sighed but still wasn't talking. She groaned "You are making this harder than it is. But if you insist we can do this the hard way." For some moments she was silent then Anna said "I never imagined you to be forgetful."

"…"he sighed than he asked "And what did I forget?"

"Well, after you caught me you forgot something quite important."

"That would be?"

"Isn't it quite obvious? You are still holding me." She giggled. "You should see your face. Am I really so light that you don't feel my weight at all or…do you simply enjoy it?"

"It's your first guess."

"Oh please! Just admit it!"

"…"

"Sometimes you really drive me insane" she sighed, but then before she stood up she kissed his right cheek. Anna looked at her wet clothes. "Seems like I will have to sleep close to the fire, or I'll be the one who catches a cold." She looked at the Protozoan. "Remember what I told you this morning, Noishe. I don't want to have a heart attack tomorrow." He whined but nodded.

Then she looked at Kratos. "Hey…As soon as you know what you are going to do now, let me know, okay?"

"I will."

"Thank you. …And I still believe you enjoyed it."

"Hmpf…"

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><p><strong>And it's done! I hope it's not too romantic. I really try to stay as close to the characters as I can (and believe me trying to get Kratos right is quite hard), but I've always imagined those two cuter than any other couple.<strong>

**Thanks for reading! And of course Reviews are appreciated.**


	9. Threat

Chapter 9 is also finished.

I have nothing special to say, so…

**I do not own the characters or locations of Tales of Symphonia.**

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><p><em>You know Kratos; I'm still a bit disappointed that you just wanted to let me go. <strong>At that time I was still hoping that I could keep you from getting involved with Cruxis. <strong>Ähm…hello? You created Cruxis with Yuan and Mithos! I was involved in the moment where you first looked at me. You have to know that he fell in lov…**Anna. **Okay, okay. I won't tell them. You are so sensitive. Anyway…what were we talking about? **Izoold. **Oh right!_

_I bet you would have let me go without even saying something. **How could I have possibly known that you felt the same way as I? **…Is this a serious question? Please! I KISSED you after you told me everything about CRUXIS! After a month of believing you were a DESIAN Lord, a superior of Kvar! Wasn't it kinda obvious?_

_**You were the one who said she didn't know how she felt about it. **That's not my fault. You threw everything at me in just one night. It took me some time to digest that. Besides you never ever asked me_

_**Asked you what? **Today you are a bit slow, aren't you? If I love you, of course! If you had asked me, you would have forced me to think about it more seriously…or maybe I would have said just yes without thinking about it at all. But it would have sped things up_

_**I didn't think a twenty year old woman would know the difference between affection and love. **First of all after a year in a human ranch you know the difference between every emotion. Secondly you weren't my first boyfriend so I had experience with a simple crush and love and thirdly I counted again and at that time I was still nineteen. My birthday was on the day we arrived at Izoold._

_Besides, why does age matter anyway? You are four thousand years old and you were so reserved that I thought we would never do more than kissing. **Not this again…**I'm still mad at you because of that! I took me a whole week to…** Don't you want to proceed telling the story? **…Okay. But don't think you will get away this easily! We will discuss this later!_

_Alright, where was I? Right. Izoold. I'll give you the short version, and then we can move on to the next interesting part. On the next morning he told me that he would take me to Triet, because there I would be safe and I could wait till Kvar's Desians leave the coast. To be honest I wasn't really sad about that_

_Anyway, it took us some days to get to the Ossa-Path, but nothing exciting happened. But after a week, we were still travelling across the mountains, something quite…interesting happened. **I thought you said you were afraid at that time. **Kratos, when someone is travelling with you fear and excitement lie very close to each other._

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><p><em>Why are you so damn nosey? Why, Anna? Your curiosity has always caused you trouble! So why don't you finally learn your lesson and keep your nose out of stuff you have nothing to do with? It's not that hard! <em>Anna thought while hiding behind a tree.

Quite some time had passed after they had decided to go to Triet. Well, Kratos had decided it, but she was fine with that. Honestly she had enjoyed every minute of those two weeks, since they left Izoold. The fun she had with Noishe and the interesting things she had talked about with Kratos made her…well, happy. She was happy and Anna enjoyed every last bit of it.

And…actually…not just the conversations with Kratos were quite enjoyable. Only being around him was so…nice. She couldn't think of a better word to describe it, but she knew she wouldn't mind if the journey would take longer than expected. No, not at all.

But today had been different. The whole day Kratos and Noishe had been …restless. And even Anna had felt that something had been wrong. This uneasiness hadn't let her sleep right and her nightmares had been worse than usual. After the second time she had woken up, Anna had realised that Kratos was missing. It wouldn't have bothered her, if she hadn't heard distant voices. And reckless like she was, she had tried to find out what was going on.

Far too late Anna had realised her mistake and was now hiding behind a tree, praying to a goddess that didn't exist that no one would find out that she was there. She hadn't seen who was there, but she had recognized the voices. Two voices she had wished to never hear again. Anna knew that Yuan was there. The other Seraph. The half elf that had the same frightening aura that surrounded Kratos.

But the other voice had just terrified her. There had been just one single occasion where she had heard the voice of Lady Pronyma, the leader of the five Grand Cardinals. It had been a conversation between Kvar and Pronyma, where Kvar had told her that his Angelus Project was more promising than he had ever expected and that she would loose her position very soon. But Pronyma had just laughed and had said that no matter what Kvar does he would never become the leader of the Grand Cardinals. And Anna had needed to take just one look at her, to believe that. She was the epitome of cruelty. And not even Kvar could take that position.

"Lord Kratos, this is the last attempt to return you to Derris Kharlan without using violence" Pronyma said with her cold voice, nearly sounding like a robot "Lord Yggdrassil's orders were very clear." "I you don't return now, we will force you" Yuan added. For a moment there was silence. Then Kratos said "And you think just the two of you are able to do that?" Perhaps it was just her imagination, but Anna thought she had heard a bit of arrogance in his voice.

"Yggdrassil must be overestimating your abilities" Kratos stated. "And you are overestimating yours" Yuan answered. The tension was growing. Anna could sense that. It didn't take much more and this conversation would end in a fight.

"Lord Kratos" Pronyma said "if you don't return to Derris Kharlan, you will be marked as a traitor and be punished as such. Ignoring Lord Yggdrassil's orders is treason." She sounded angry. "Pronyma, stop it! He doesn't care if he's betraying Yggdrassil or not. Such arguments are useless" Yuan said annoyed. "You are right, Yuan. I don't care. And I would prefer if you would leave now. I have got nothing left to do with you" Kratos replied.

Someone sighed. Probably Yuan. "If I wouldn't know it better, I could start to believe you are betraying Cruxis for this human." _Oh shit!_ "For a human?" Pronyma asked incredulous.

"You don't know? He is travelling with this woman that escaped from the Asgard ranch."

"Lord Yuan, do you mean the host body from the Angelus project?" Pronyma sounded shocked and there was hint of anger in her voice.

"Exactly this human. I believe her name is…Anna" Yuan answered. Anna's eyes widened and her heart started to beat faster. The fact that Yuan knew her name was frightening. Truly frightening. "Hmpf…Believe what you want, Yuan" Kratos said after some moments. "What are the orders regarding this host body?" Pronyma asked. And Anna was sure to hear excitement in her voice. "I was ordered to kill her if I should get the chance, but I suppose you could take her and try to harvest a Cruxis Crystal, if you want to. It doesn't matter really. She will die no matter what happens."

_I'm doomed…_"Come to think of it. Where is she? I guess quite nearby" Yuan said. Anna didn't like how he had said that. This silent implied threat scared her more than anything else he had said before. "And what makes you think that I will answer this question?" Kratos asked. "So she must be very close. But since she's a human she must be asleep now." And Anna really wished she would be sleeping right now. "Tell me Kratos, does she know what's going on?"

Dead silence.

"Are you really so foolish that you think I would tell her the secrets of Cruxis?" Kratos asked. "I was just curious, of how much she knows. But you are right. No one would be so cruel to destroy the worldview of a human like this" Yuan replied. _Well, you have been proven wrong._

"This nuisance has been long enough. I will make myself clear: I won't return to Derris Kharlan and I will no longer obey Yggdrassil's orders. If you want to force me go ahead, but I warn you. I will not hold back" Kratos said serious.

For a while no one said something. Then there was a noise like a footstep. "No, Pronyma! He had enough time to prepare himself. If you attack now, you will be crushed" Yuan said sharp "If things are like this, he will win." "But Lord Yuan! We have orders to…" "Like you said yourself this was the last attempt to talk to him reasonably. We are going to report to Yggdrassil." And this part was meant for Kratos "But next time you won't get away this easily!" "We'll see about that" he answered.

Then there was nothing left but silence. For some minutes nothing happened and Anna could only hear the beating of her heart. Then finally she managed to sneak back to their camping place. When she arrived, she fell on her knees and sat there for a while just trembling.

Anna had just heard her death warrant, but that didn't bother her that much. Since the ranch she wasn't afraid of dying anymore. No, the thing that scared her the most was the possibility of losing… Some tears were running down her face. _If want it or not, Anna. There's no turning back now. You had your chance to get out of all this, but you stayed. Damn! You didn't even want to enter Izoold!_

"Anna?" Kratos asked behind her. She looked at him, not thinking about the fact that she was crying. "Why are you…" and before he could even finish his sentence she slapped him.

"You are such an idiot! Why haven't you said something? Why? Why haven't you told me that I'm causing you even more trouble than you already have? Did it never enter your angelic mind that I could be worried about you too? That I don't want you to get hurt? Does your own life mean so little to you that you would sacrifice it for an insignificant human? You have already problems! Why do you make it worse and stay with me? If you had said something, I would have gone! I slow you down! I keep causing trouble! You said you don't want to be distracted by me! If you had been clearer, I would have stopped! I really would have stopped, but you let me do it over and over again! Why did you let me do that?" Anna yelled at him furious.

She turned around. "_Don't you realise that I care more about you than anyone else? That I care more about you than I should?_" Anna whispered, while she was trying to wipe off the tears of anger and frustration. Noishe, who had woken up some minutes ago, was trying to comfort her, but she moved away. "No, don't! I'm angry not sad. You don't have to do that" Anna said. It was true. She really wasn't sad. She was angry at Kratos and herself, because he had never said something and because she had never thought about the consequences of staying with him.

Frustrated she sat down. "It's just like at the ranch" Anna groaned "Because of me people get hurt. And I can do nothing about it. …Sometimes it sucks to be a normal human!" With her left hand she touched the spot, where the Cruxis Crystal was. A move she always made, when she was either angry or thinking about something. Now it was both.

"…" Anna wanted to say more, wanted to express how angry, how worried and afraid she was right now, but her mouth seemed to have stopped working. For at least ten minutes, which felt like eternity, there was just silence. Finally she managed to say something. "I'm…I'm sorry for…slapping you. I guess I…kinda freaked out. But just because I'm sorry, doesn't mean you didn't deserve it. You are still an idiot for not telling me those things" she said still a bit angry, but her voice was softer now.

"Your concerns are needless. Cruxis doesn't have the necessary power to take me down."

"For a comment like this you should be slapped right again" she answered while staring up in the sky. _I wish I had your confidence…_

"It's the truth."

Anna sighed and stood up. "You can be quite arrogant if you want to."

"I just know their limits and mine. There is nothing arrogant about that."

"You are not making it better" she answered. Then she folded her hands before her chest. "And even so…Even if you are that strong…I'm still causing you more trouble than you already have. I…don't know Cruxis as well as you do, but I know that you are playing with fire."

"If you are worried about your safety…"

"My safety? My safety?" she asked unbelieving and turned around. Her look was more than just angry. "Dammit, Kratos! I'm not the center of the world! Not everything is about me! I'm an insignificant, absolutely not important human! I don't care about MY safety! I care about YOURS!" She groaned frustrated. "It's like talking to a wall…" Desperate she looked at Noishe. "You know what I'm talking about, right?" He nodded.

"See? Noishe gets it. And I'm not even talking with him!"

"You…"

"And if say now I don't know what I'm talking about then I swear to whatever greater force is left in this world I will kill you!"

"…If you are really so concerned about my wellbeing…"

"I am!"

"…then I assure you that nothing is going to happen to me or you."

She narrowed her eyes. "Do you…promise me that?"

"If you wish…"

"…Thanks. I feel a bit better now." For a while she just looked at the ground. Then finally she asked "Does that mean…I don't…have to…leave?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, if I'm…allowed to stay with you…two. To be honest I really don't want to leave…" She mumbled quite silently, while still looking at the ground. "I mean, only if you don't mind and only if it doesn't make things worse, which I doubt is possible" she added. _Okay, Anna you've said it. …Oh no! He's not answering! Oh damn! What if he says no or…or something worse? Oh why have you said it? Stupid, stupid Anna! You need to learn to shut up! First you yell at him, because he hasn't told you that you make things worse and now you want to stay! You are really stupid!_

"…If you want to stay, I won't force you to leave" he answered finally. Relieved she breathed out. Then she said "Kratos…I…" and before she could think the sentence through a totally excited Noishe jumped at her. It took her some moments to realise what just happened. The Protozoan licked her face over and over again. "This feels oddly familiar" she said smiling.

After a while Anna said still smiling, but insistent "Noishe, I'm really glad that you are so excited, but if you want me to stay alive, you should get off me, because I can't breathe right now." He didn't move, although he stopped licking her face. "Don't thank me. Thank him" she pointed at Kratos "He allowed it." And faster than she ever imagined Noishe could be he ran over to Kratos. Now the Seraph was lying on the ground and trying to get Noishe off him.

"You saw that coming didn't you?" he asked her annoyed. "Sorry, but for me there was no other way to get him off me", she said giggling, while standing up. Then she went to them and asked "Need a hand?"

And before he could answer, she kneeled down and said to the Protozoan "Noishe, would you please get off him? I doubt that a serious person like him can survive your cuteness for much longer." A few seconds later Noishe got off Kratos. "Seriously…"Anna said to Kratos "What would you do without me?" Instead of answering he sat up.

"Really. Without me you would have the most boring life in this entire world. No, that's not true. The most boring life of both worlds."

"Your mood is better now" he stated.

"Yeah, much better! Although I feel guilty for slapping you, even though you deserved it" she answered and with one hand she touched his cheek "It didn't hurt that much, or did it?"

"…"

"Sorry. I promise I won't do it again, unless…you behave like a jerk again."

"…May I ask you something?"

"Sure. Go ahead."

"Why do you want to stay?"

"Why didn't you want to kill me when I asked you to?" They looked at each for a moment, and then she said "That's the reason. It's as simple as that." Anna jerked her shoulders. "Plain and simple."

She stood up. Then she looked around and said "I don't have much experience with Cruxis' methods, but isn't it a bit stupid to stay here, when Yuan and Pronyma were so close?"

"…What about your sleep?" he asked, when he was standing again.

"With the image of Lady Pronyma in my head I won't be able to sleep anyway. Really, this woman is just creepy! How did she manage to become the leader of the five Grand Cardinals?"

"…She proved to be the most loyal of them."

"More loyal than Kvar? I never imagined that this could be possible. …See? That's why I love talking with you! I get to know so many interesting things."

"…"

"Shouldn't we get going?"

"You are sure, that you are not too tired?"

"Like I said I'm not made out of glass. Don't worry about me. I'll be fine."

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><p><strong>It's interesting that every time I'm writing a moment like this Kratos gets slapped. But it always seems so fitting. And yes, Anna finally figured out how she feels. And for the <strong>

**ones who are wondering why she was crying, realising that you love someone that will probably get you killed isn't that great.**

**You know it's quite sad, but even after 9 chapters they are still not a couple. This has to change quite soon, or I'll lose it.**

**Reviews are welcome!**

**Thanks for reading!**


	10. Angel and Human

And here comes Chapter 10!

Actually, when I started it I just wanted to make a cute romantic scene, but it turned out to be something more serious. I'm quite pleased with the result, though.

Enjoy!

**I do not own the characters or the locations of Tales of Symphonia.**

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><p>"For the last time: It was an accident! It won't happen again, okay? So Noishe stop being sorry and you stop being mad at him!" Anna said growing more and more frustrated. It really had been an accident. "It's not Noishe's fault!" she said insistent "It doesn't even hurt." That maybe was a lie, still the rest was true.<p>

A week had passed since the incident on the Ossa-Path. It had been a rather uneventful week. It had been fun, Anna didn't deny that, but since she had heard the conversation between Kratos, Yuan and Pronyma, she hadn't dared to kiss or even to touch him for a single time. There had been physical contact, but nothing special or anything and that really frustrated her. Anna didn't want to hold back, not now when she finally knew how much she really cared about him. And the fact that her companion looked far better than the average didn't make things better. Furthermore she was a bit upset that he had obviously no problems with this distance. All in all she was trying to avoid anything that could destroy her self control. She kept telling herself that Cruxis was after them, well mostly after him, but still…. The fact that this was the best thing to do wasn't very comforting, though. Not comforting at all.

In the evening, when she had been dressing again after a bath in a little creek, Noishe had accidentally scratched her. Now there was a long and thin red scratch from her neck to her elbow. Actually Anna thought it was quite impressive that Noishe had managed to cut her skin this straight and clean, but she couldn't admit that while Kratos was around. She wasn't mad at Noishe, who had tried to apologize a split second after it had happened (and was still trying to). Anna had tried to hide the scratch after her clothes, but unfortunately the cut was a bit more painful than she had expected. And it had taken Kratos not more than one minute to find out why she was flinching, when she touched something with her right arm.

He had lectured Noishe in his own scary but quiet way to be more careful, because she was human and not as strong as him. Still…he was overreacting…again. "It won't even leave a scar!" Anna said annoyed "I've been through much worse things and survived without difficulty." But no matter what she said Kratos insisted on taking a closer look at it. "You don't know if it's serious or not. The cut reaches from your neck to your elbow. You would not feel it if a vein would have been damaged" he said calm.

"Yeah, I'm bleeding to death right in front of you" she answered sarcastically.

"Would you please remove your sleeve, so I can treat this cut?"

"My what?" she asked with wide opened eyes "You've got to be kidding! I'm not removing my sleeve!" Even Anna knew that that sounded ridiculous. Some moments later she sighed and said "But make it quick!", while removing her sleeve. Her arm felt quite…naked now and the scratch was burning.

But what made her feel really uncomfortable was the fact how close Kratos was. He wasn't touching her, while he was looking at the scratch. But this fact didn't keep her from blushing. _Damn. Damn. Damn. Damn. Damn. Damn. It can't take that long to look at something like this! _"Have you finished?" she asked and her voice was a bit higher than usual. "…It doesn't seem to have damaged…" but before he could finish his sentence, Anna moved her arm away and put her sleeve back on. "_Ouch_…" she whispered. _It does hurt more than I thought._

"I wasn't finished" he said.

"You said yourself that it's nothing serious."

"…I said that it doesn't seem to be serious. I have to take another…"

"No, please don't!" Anna said, and stopped his move with her hands "It will heal on its own. It's no big deal! Please, believe me just this one time!" And then she moved her hands away, like they had been burned.

"Anna is something wrong?" he asked and sounded quite worried.

"No, of course not. Why do you ask?"

"You don't seem to be…yourself lately." _Caught!_

"Oh…ähm…what makes you think that?" she asked while her face turned slowly red.

"You are not as…cheerful as usual."

She looked at him for a long moment and then she said "Kratos with all honesty I'm impressed that you noticed something like that. But I have to correct you. I'm not less cheerful I'm just a bit more…controlled. I…keep my distance like I said."

"That doesn't suit your character."

"…But you…Wait a minute! Is this your way of saying that I shouldn't do that?" She tilted her head.

"…I merely said that it doesn't fit to your normal behaviour."

"What again is my normal behaviour? I guess I forgot it." A playful smile played on her lips.

"You do realise that this is childish?"

"That's not childish! This is the payback for a week of suffering!"

"…No one forced you to keep your distance."

"Kratos, you're walking on thin ice!" Her expression switched suddenly from angry to amused. "I can't believe you tell me something like that! You, who is the most serious and reserved person in this entire universe! That's really quite ironic."

"…"

"You still didn't answer my question."

"Which one do you mean?"

She rolled her eyes. "What my normal behaviour is. Since you seem to miss it so dearly, you should tell me."

"Hmpf…"

"If you don't tell me, I can't do it again. I hope you know tha…" but Anna stopped talking when she felt how Kratos lifted her chin with one hand slightly up to kiss her. This was the first time since three weeks that he had kissed her and therefore her feelings were a bit…intensive. She felt her blood rushing through her veins and a burning feeling spread from her head to the rest of her body. She didn't dare to move, so she just closed her eyes slightly and enjoyed this brief moment.

"…Was…this the answer to my question or did you just shut me up?" she asked smiling, after he had stopped. Kratos didn't answer, but his look was quite self-explanatory. Now she smiled even brighter. "You could do that more often! It would safe us a lot of time and it would keep me from getting on your nerves" she stated.

"…I will consider it."

Anna rolled her eyes and sighed. "You are truly hopeless. What do I have to do to convince you that you don't have to be so…well, so distant?" Again silence. _Why does this have to be so laborious?_

"Kratos, do you know how a conversation works? If a person asks something the other person has to answer. I really don't want to talk to myself now."

"…"

"You are seriously going to force me to say it, aren't you?" she asked while folding her hands before her chest.

"Saying what?"

"…Since you simply don't get the signs or don't want to get them, I guess for me there's nothing left to make myself clear. Otherwise you will never ever understand what I'm talking about. And I'm tired of the fact that I always have to force you to…physical contact. You maybe are more intelligent than anyone else I know, but when it comes to social things you are…well, like this."

"What are you intending to do?"

"Shhh….I'm thinking." For a while Anna was looking at the ground and was trying to find out how she could say what she wanted to say in a way that even Kratos understood what she meant or had no other option, but to understand.

"Okay, I think this will work. You'll listen and I will talk, which shouldn't be too hard for you since this is basically what we do all the time. And since this is kinda important you are not allowed to interfere."

He sighed, but nodded.

"Good. Alright…Remember what happened a week ago? On the Ossa-Path?"

"Yes, I do."

"And do you remember how I reacted when you came back?"

"Lively."

"And do you remember what I said when you asked me why I wanted to stay?"

Kratos closed his eyes and answered "Yes, I remember that."

"Good, then let me ask you a question. Do you know what I was implying by this?"

"…"

She sighed. "Don't act stupid! I know you're not."

Still no answer.

"Do you really don't get it or do you simply don't want to understand?"

"I know what you meant back then. I apologize if I should anger you now, but I doubt that you have enough life experience to be able to say that with all sincerity."

And he was right. Anna nearly would have slapped him for this comment. _Don't freak out! He just doesn't want to believe it, because he's…well, Kratos. You just have to be…absolutely honest._

Some moments later, when she had successfully suppressed her anger, she said "You know that I have a trauma from my time in the human ranch. My scars and the Crystal are not the only marks I carry around with me. I have nightmares yes, but that isn't the only thing. There are…some things I can't…do anymore, because they were beaten out of me. And yet…even though I'm scarred for the rest of my entire life, I can laugh, I can cry, I can enjoy, I can sleep and many things more. I can live! I'm happy, and that's something I wasn't for a very long time. And the reason for all this is you. Okay, Noishe played a part too, but still mostly you."

Anna sighed. It was really quite hard for her to talk about her time in the ranch. She didn't want to remember how horrible it had been. "You might think I'm an inexperienced child. And hey, sometimes I am, but…that doesn't mean I can't be sure about this….about you. I…I…don't care that you are a Seraph and I don't care that you are partly responsible for the bad condition of this world. I can see that you are trying to make up for that, that you are sorry. Maybe without Cruxis I wouldn't have endured hell in the Asgard ranch, but what you've done back then was necessary to save this world. I can't speak for Sylvarant…for Tethe'alla, but…**I** forgive you. You made a mistake and you are sorry. That's enough for me. And despite I know all this, I don't want to go. I want to stay, even though it's probably the most dangerous and the most foolish thing to do."

Anna closed her eyes.

"…Every time I see you in the morning looking at the horizon, you look so sad and so lonely. You look hopeless…and I don't know why. Then I feel sad myself, because no matter what I do, what I say you stay so sad. And I feel guilty, because I'm happy and you are not. I want you to be happy, but I don't know what I should do. And…and…even if there would be way to make you happy, even if you would believe me that I love you I doubt…you would let it happen."

While she had said that, Anna's voice had been soft and calm. She had wanted to make herself clear, once and for all. She didn't know if it had worked, but now Anna felt better. She had said what she was feeling. It had taken her nearly a month to find that out, but it had been worth the time, because now she was absolutely sure about it.

Her eyes were still closed, when she said with a faint smile "This is a bit like when you told me the truth. I didn't want to believe you. And now it's nearly the same. You don't believe the truth and actually you don't have to believe me, if you don't want to. Sorry, that I'm quoting you, but I don't know what else I could say now."

"…You are truly the strangest person I've ever meet" Kratos said some minutes later. A bit surprised she opened her eyes and looked at him. His face was as calm as usual.

"…Is this good or bad?" she asked a bit unsure.

Now his eyes were closed. "You can consider it as a compliment."

Smiling she shook her head slightly. "I can say exactly the same about you…although you are a bit weirder than me. No offence!"

"Maybe I am…"

"Says the four thousand year old angel to the human" Anna answered and rolled her eyes.

After a while she sighed and said "Forgive my curiosity, but do you believe me now or not?" The sunset was nearly over and the first stars were shining above them. It was quiet and peaceful. While she was waiting for his answer, she was looking at Noishe, who seemed to want to hear his answer as badly as her.

"…I suppose I was wrong before. It seems that you are quite sure about what you've said…"

"One-hundred percent sure, but go ahead."

"…It seems that I can assume that you really feel like you say you do."

"Judging from the way you say it, it must very hard for you to believe it. But…that does mean that you take me seriously?"

"Yes, it does."

Anna had wanted to do something now, but she stopped to move after a split second and asked "Ähm…that may sound a bit stupid now, but is this feeling mutual? Because you never said it and I just assumed it since the first time you kissed me. I mean you never said anything that proved me wrong, but I just want to be sure."

"Do I really have to answer that?" he asked and his incredulous look made her blush.

"Well, sorry! But you're the one who never said it clear" she answered, still feeling a little bit stupid "…Although it's a bit obvious, I admit that."

And then she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Anna, you are strangling me" Kratos said after some moments.

"Sorry!" she replied and moved her arms away. But her bright smile didn't vanish. "Hey, since you are not used to physical contact, I just wanted to warn you, before I do this" Anna said, before she leaned forward to kiss him a bit differently than he had. A little more…passionate.

"And? Is it still hard to believe?" she asked and a small grin appeared on her face.

"Yes, it still is."

"You are quite lucky, because I have a lot of time to convince you!" Anna answered still smiling.

Noishe was sitting a bit further away and looked pleased at the two. And his expression was showing what he was thinking right now: It was about time!

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><p><strong>Oh my god! Finally! After 10 chapters they are finally really together! Oh god, I was starting to lose hope that it could ever happen!<strong>

**Oh and about how Anna told Kratos that she loves him: First of all, yes, Kratos would be the kind of person to not believe her, because he thinks he doesn't deserve it. (Just think of how long it Lloyd and the rest took to convince him that he doesn't have to die, to make up for his mistakes.)**

**Secondly I wanted that her statement shows how serious, how caring and how forgiving she can be. Most of the time she is cheerful, light-hearted and well, a bit like Lloyd, but she's neither stupid nor naïve. She knows exactly how dangerous the situation she is in is and of course she knows that this is all because she is travelling with Kratos, and still she chooses to stay, proving that she really loves him.**

**And of course I wanted to show, how Anna can see right through him. That she's able to understand him, which is quite impressive (if you consider the difference in age, personality, etc.) Anna is far more serious and intelligent, than she lets people know.**

**I just wanted to give her character more depth and well, the simple "I love you"-phrase wasn't romantic enough for this chapter so…**

**And yes, she is by far my favourite character. You could have guessed?**

**Thanks for reading and if you have the time leave a comment!**


	11. Desert Sand

Is this really already chapter 11?

Wow, this didn't take as nearly as long as I expected.

Well, now that the two are (finally!) a couple I can really start the main event. The Journey across whole Sylvarant, while being pursued by Cruxis. Ahh…this is going to be fun!

**I do not own the characters or the locations of Tales of Symphonia.**

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><p><em>At last I could shake him off! Really, I love him, but while he's around I can't tell you the real interesting parts. He would interfere with no end and I haven't got time for that. He can be damn annoying if he wants to, but I guess you already know that.<em>

_Well, if I remember correctly we came to the "I love you"-part. Man, that was really hard to say and it was even harder to convince him, that I absolutely meant it. Seriously, it would be easier to teach Raine how to swim._

_Okay, about the journey. We were travelling through the desert for about…two weeks. If you don't use an Exsphere this is quite exhausting, but not that bad and I was so excited, that I would finally enter a town again. After some time you miss normal human company._

_I guess you are wondering if Kratos and I were now really together. The answer is: kinda. It's hard to describe. Sometimes we were so close and sometimes…he was so far away, if you know what I mean. I was really trying my best to understand what was going on in his head and honestly a four thousand year old angel is quite hard to understand. But since I made teeny tiny baby steps, I was slowly, but surely getting closer to him. Very hard work but it was worth it in the end._

_Oh right! Something that is a bit important is that I finally found out in these two weeks, that he has those damn angel senses. You have no idea how embarrassing and how annoying it is to have someone around you, who sees and hears everything! I admit sometimes it was quite convenient, but mostly annoying. Although there was one incident, were it was really quite helpful. This was in the week where I was trying to sed…No; it's too soon for that. Way too soon! But don't worry we'll get to this._

_Triet. Yeah, let's go on with Triet. …You know what's strange? I have this feeling that I like this town, but I don't know why. I mean I know what happened there, but there's nothing that would explain this feeling. …Maybe I'll remember, while I'm telling you. …Weird…_

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><p>Anna was standing in the small inn of Triet and was looking at the bed that was in front of her like it was the Holy Grounds of Kharlan itself. "You have been looking at this bed for now over ten minutes" Kratos stated behind her.<p>

"Mhmm…" she answered, still starring at the piece of furniture.

"I can't imagine that furniture is so interesting that it could justify your reaction."

"…This…is a bed" Anna said slowly. She kneeled down, so she could take an even closer look at it. "This is a bed! Do you know how long it has been since I saw a bed?"

"Considering your past, a bit longer than a year" he answered.

"Exactly! You can't know that, because you haven't been through the same things as I, but I'm having a moment right now! A soft bed, where you can…sleep in!" Her voice sounded ecstatic. Very careful she touched it. _It's sooo soft!_

"That's what they are made for" he answered. "Och…Don't ruin it with your Kratos-ness" she replied while she was touching the blanket with both of her hands.

"My what?" the Seraph asked a bit confused. "Kratos-ness. You know, how you are, is really hard to describe, because you are so many things at once. So I summed it up. Of course I could say, don't ruin my mood with your angelic, totally Cruxis infected comments, but well, it's a bit long" Anna answered and now even dared to sit on the bed "Oh my goddess! This feels incredible!"

Suddenly she blushed and said "I'm sorry! Didn't want to say that. Old habit, I guess."

He tilted his head and asked nearly sounding a bit curious "What old habit?" With her left hand she scratched the back of her head and answered a bit embarrassed "Well, I'm trying to stop saying "My goddess" or "In Martel's name" or stuff like that. Since you told me what really happened to her, I always feel so disrespectful when I use her name like this. And considering the fact that I know what Cruxis does and that I'm travelling with you, it's really not adequate."

Then she let herself fall back and enjoyed the absolute extraordinary softness of the bed. _This feels like heaven! So soft! Clouds must feel like that! _She sighed some moments she smiled and asked "You leave it like that? No wise comment about what I said?" "Even if I would say what I think about your behaviour, I highly doubt it would make any difference to you" Kratos answered. A bit surprised she sat up, although she would have liked to lie in the bed for a bit longer.

"Wow, it seems there is still hope for you to become a human again! I'm surprised and maybe even a little bit impressed!" Anna answered giggling. She stood up and stretched her arms. "Your social abilities really have improved" she said with a pleased smile.

"I don't see any difference from before I met you" he answered. Anna rolled her eyes. Then she went over to him. And when there faces were only a few inches away from each other the young woman replied "Well, now you are able to have a normal conversation with a human. Recently you even started a conversation. And you made a human fall in love with you. There is a difference from before. Huge difference!"

After that she moved away. Anna had learned soon that she could shut him up quite easily, if she was close to him in one moment and then moved away in another. Like this she could tell him something, without the risk that he would interrupt her. Besides she enjoyed to see that she was able to put him out like this.

Anna looked out of the window and sighed. "Ohh…It's already dark. I wanted to see a bit more of this town. I have never been here before." Kratos, who seemed to have recovered from her move, answered "There's time for that tomorrow."

Surprised she turned around. "Tomorrow?" Anna asked.

"There's no need to move on now. Cruxis doesn't expect me to travel with you any longer and are surely now looking for me in Tethe'alla. We can stay here for a few days."

"Wait! …Let's see if I got this right. You mean we can stay her for a while, because Cruxis thinks you wouldn't be so stupid to stay with a human?"

"…Basically, yes."

"…Ooookay, I guess I shouldn't complain" she answered. "Good, that you are that foolish!" Anna added smiling and leaned forward to kiss him briefly. _Not too much, Anna! You could scare him off again _she reminded herself. Really, it was like flirting with a deer. One step too far and you were at the beginning again. Then she turned around again. "So I'm allowed to sleep in a bed tonight?"

"Since when do you need my allowance for anything?"

"Point taken."

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><p>The moon was shining on Triet. Everything was quiet…Till Anna groaned frustrated and got out of the bed. "This is so unfair! I've waited for this day like forever and now…this!" she stated upset "It feels so nice and yet…it feels wrong. I can't believe that something can feel too soft!" She sighed heavily.<p>

The young woman turned around and realised that Kratos was sitting on a chair in a dark corner of the room. It took her some moments to recover from the shock. "Why do you always have to startle me?" she asked quite angrily.

"It's not my fault that you are an easily frightened person" he replied simply.

"And it's not my fault that you look absolutely terrifying in the dark!" Anna answered. She let out a sigh of desperation. "I will have to sleep on the floor! This is sooo pathetic!" She sat down. Then she sighed again, but this time really annoyed. "Okay, there has to be something wrong with me! There is no other explanation for this!"

"Why do you think something like that?" Kratos asked and looked at her with this somehow strange interested look, he always had when she had done something quite…Anna-like. "I hate to admit it, but well…sitting on the floor is more comfortable than lying in this sweet, little, cloud-like bed. Like I said, I can't be right in the head…" And before he could even start his answer, she said "I don't want to hear your answer! No angel comments now! So please save it!"

She laid back and discovered that the floor really was far more comfortable. She groaned "Worst night ever!"

"Does it really bother you that much that you are not able to sleep in a bed?"

She rolled her eyes and started to feel that she was getting tired. "Someone who doesn't sleep can't understand that. …It's just sleeping in a bed is one of those small things you really miss and realising that you can't do it, gets you down a bit. But I guess, it's better like that. While travelling with you, we won't stay often in a place like this anyway."

Anna yawned. "I can't believe I'm falling asleep, because I moved out of the bed onto the floor!" But before she could have expressed her frustration any further, Anna fell asleep.

"And Noishe? How do I look?" Anna asked the Protozoan. The young woman stood just outside the inn in front of the little shelter, where Noishe had spent the night. It was nearly midday and it was really quite hot. Noishe looked at her critically. Then he let out a friendly bark. "You like them? Really? You don't have to lie to me. If you don't like them you can tell me. I won't be mad" she explained him, but his reaction stayed the same.

Anna felt a bit insecure in her new clothes. She had spent the whole morning searching for the right clothes. It had been quite difficult to find something, which would have fit, her standards. First of all they had to be convenient. Secondly resistant and thirdly comfortable. And to find something that fulfilled all those criterions, had been harder, than she had expected.

But the weirdest thing about it was that Kratos had suggested this purchase. Really weird…She had had no idea why, but she had agreed rather quickly. Although she had done it only under one condition: That she would go alone. He had wanted to protest, but she had managed to convince him that it wouldn't be good, if he would spend too much time in public.

She had said to him "Cruxis is looking for you. You might think that they are searching for you now in Tethe'alla, but you can't be sure about that. They could be anywhere. And be honest, I'm far more inconspicuous than you are. I'm just not as intimidating as you. Don't worry, I'll be fine. It's not like I could get lost here." And he really had agreed. She had been quite surprised that she had managed that and had told herself to use more arguments like that in the future.

Anna was and always had been a people person. There was something about her that nearly forced the people around her to like her. At least that's what her mother had always told her, but it seemed to be the truth, because she had absolutely no problem to socialize with the citizens of Triet. Although, and Anna was quite proud about that, she had not a single time given her name or anything important like that. She really had been careful, like she had promised him.

The shopping itself had been actually quite fun, even though it had been hard to find something fitting. After some time she had found clothes that would serve their purpose. It was a grey shirt and grey pants. The shirt had black lines on it and the space between those lines was yellow. It was a nice contrast. The sleeves were long and wide and their colour was a bit darker. But the best thing about this shirt was that it covered her Exsphere completely.

Then she had found something that was a mixture between a cape and a coat. It had a nice shade of green and it really suited her to her surprise. She had paid the clothes with the money Kratos had given her and that made her feel a little bit bad. Anna didn't like to spend money of other people. It made her feel so dependent. But since she actually did depend on him, it wasn't so bad after all.

Still, even though Noishe told her that he liked the clothes, Anna didn't want to go inside quite yet. She liked the fact that she was surrounded by people. Absolutely normal people. She enjoyed just observing them. Men, women and children living their normal lives.

After some minutes she said to Noishe "I guess I should finally go back inside again. He'll probably lose it if I don't show up." The Protozoan licked her hand. "See you later!" she answered, while she was entering the inn. On her way upstairs a maid walked past her.

"Uhm…excuse me, Miss?" Anna heard the soft voice, but it took her some moments to realise that she was meant. She turned around. "Yes?" Anna answered a bit unsure. The maid looked at her curiously. She was a pretty, young woman, with long black hair and grey eyes. "I'm terribly sorry for bothering you, but would you be so kind to tell me who the man is, that is travelling with you?"

"Wh…Why do you want to know that?" Anna asked suspicious. _Is she someone from Cruxis? But she doesn't look like that at all. And if she would be from Cruxis she would know how Kratos would look like. Right?_

"I…I was just curious if he's a relative of yours or something like that." The maid blushed. Anna answered still a bit unsure about, what was going on "No, he's not one of my relatives." And the black haired girl looked a bit disappointed. "Oh…I see. So he's a friend of yours?" she asked. _Girl, I haven't time for this! Kratos is surely freaking out by no…_And suddenly it made "click" in Anna's head.

"Wait a second! Are you asking me if he's my…boyfriend?" she asked a bit surprised. Now the maid's face turned dark red. "I'm sorry. I didn't want to be so nosey. It's just you two look a bit like lovers, but I wasn't sure…" _We look like lovers? Kratos and I? Really?_

"And you wanted to be sure, because…?" Anna asked with one eyebrow raised. The maid's expression gave her away. _Oh come on! Seriously? You've got to be kidding! _"Sooo, are you lovers?" the maid asked, and she looked like she was feeling really uncomfortable. Anna sighed. "I'm sorry, but that's really none of your business. I just leave it to your imagination what he and I are" she replied with a hint of annoyance in her voice.

She walked away. _This can't be real! We have been here for only a day! How can this maid develop a crush on him in 24 hours? Dammit! She barely even saw him!_

A bit angry she closed the door behind her. "Really…this girl is far too easily impressed" Anna mumbled. "Of whom are you talking?" Kratos asked. He stood in front of the window and wasn't looking at her. Eye contact wasn't his strength. "No one! ...I mean of no one important" she answered and blushed. That this was bothering her so much really made her a bit mad.

"I see that you have found new clothing" he stated after he had looked at her. "Oh…yeah, right!" she answered a bit confused. She had totally forgotten about them. Anna ran her hand through her hair and asked "What have you been doing, while I was gone?"

"Nothing in particular."

"…That's sounds really boring."

"I'm not as easily as bored as you are."

"Well, I guess you're right. …So…do I look…nice?" Her cheeks were slightly red, while she asked that. Actually Anna hadn't intended to ask that, but she hadn't been able to resist. After some moments he answered "They do suit you." _Okay, that translated into normal language means …yes. I think._

"Thanks!" And Anna smiled. Then she remembered why she had been angry a few minutes ago and started to look him over. She tilted her head and narrowed her eyes.

"May I ask why you are observing me so closely?" He seemed to be a bit curious.

"I…just don't see why." and she shook her head slightly while she was answering him.

"What can't you see?"

"I don't know why thi…" _No, Anna. He really doesn't have to know that! _"Ahh…Never mind!" But she was still looking at him in this searching way. And slowly Anna began to understand, why this maid had needed only a day and she a whole month. She had met him in the Asgard ranch believing that he was a Desian Lord. And the truth about Cruxis hadn't been a big improvement. Due to all this it was only natural that she had needed quite some time to get used to him. And even now those secrets influence her vision of him. But for everyone else he was, and it was even weird to think that, normal.

She tried to suppress a grin and failed. "What is so amusing?" the Seraph asked.

"I'm sorry, it's just that I realised that for everyone else you are normal human. I know it's not that funny, but the word human is far too small for you."

"I'm not sure what you mean by that."

"You know it's like calling Noishe a dog. It is not completely wrong, but it's just not what he is and it's sounds a bit ridiculous due to that fact. I mean you are human, nevertheless Seraph fits better." He didn't look too happy about this explanation.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't want to offend you!" she apologized quickly. "You didn't offend me" he answered "But you say that so casually, like you would talk about something absolutely normal." "Hmm…Well, I suppose that I'm used to it somehow. We are travelling already…two months? Wow, doesn't feel that long. Anyway I had enough time getting used to you and…everything. For me it's actually kinda normal by now. Although I don't like the fact that you can hear and see everything, I will need some time to get used to that" Anna explained.

"Hey, can we get something to eat?" she asked him "After being out all morning, I'm a bit hungry. No, that's not quite true. Actually I'm starving." He nodded. "Oh…ahm…could you do me a favour, Kratos?"

"What kind of favour?"

"Oh just forget it. It's nothing." But in her thoughts Anna said _Please stay away from that maid! I don't want to know what will happen if she loses her temper…or if I lose my._

* * *

><p>Trembling the young woman woke up. Again a nightmare had disturbed her sleep and this time it had been worse than usual. She had seen far too many corpses. "Dammit! Won't this finally stop?" she hissed angrily and still frightened.<p>

Suddenly Anna realised that she was lying in the bed. "_How the hell…_" she whispered. She clearly remembered that she had lain on the floor when she had fallen asleep. _I don't sleepwalk, or do I? _

Then she turned her head to Kratos. He was sitting in a corner just like the night before. And suddenly she had an idea why she was lying in the bed.

"I assume a nightmare disturbed your sleep" he said calm.

"…Yes. Like every night. …Why am I lying in the bed?" Her look was curious.

"Because I moved you from the floor into it." _Wow, he doesn't beat about the bush._

"And why?"

"I moved you because even for me this position looked uncomfortable."

"You are really, really sweet. Probably unintended, but still…" she answered smiling.

"…"

"Speaking of uncomfortable; are you going to sit there for the whole night?"

He nodded.

"Okay, I hope it's not a silly question but why don't you at least lie in a bed? Even if you don't sleep it would be more comfortable than sitting on a chair for hours."

"It wouldn't be a big difference."

"It would! …When was the last time you actually lay in a bed?"

"…It has been a while."

"Four thousand years ago, right?" She shook her head slightly.

"Approximately."

She sighed heavily. "Angels…" Anna stood up "Not even a bed! Really you would expect more comfort in the life of someone who is partly ruling the world."

"Something like comfort really doesn't matter for Cruxis. …Anna, what are you doing?"

The woman stood before him. She took his hands and said "I said I'm going to teach how to be a human again and I meant that. And lying in a bed is something quite human." She pulled him towards the piece of furniture.

Both of them stood in front of the bed. "Now try it!" she said to him. He sighed. "This is ridiculous." Anna rolled her eyes. "No, it's not! Come on! Do it!" "I don't see the reason to lie in a bed if I don't sleep anyway" he replied. She crossed her arms before her chest. "I won't stop till you tried it!" she said insistent.

Eventually he gave in and sat down. "Satisfied?" the Seraph asked. "Not…quite" Anna answered smiling. Then she sat down and while she was moving, she was pushing him down. Now he was lying on the bed, while she was holding him by his shoulders. "I said lie and not sit" she stated grinning "You should listen more carefully. "This is really quite childish" he replied. She giggled. "It's not. And? Far more comfortable than sitting in a chair, right?"

"It would be, if you wouldn't hold me down" he answered. She tilted her head. "But you would move away, if I would release you. If you didn't resist so much, that wouldn't be necessary." For a while there was silence. Then the woman said "Got it! I know how we solve this problem." She lay down beside him and wrapped her arm around the Seraph.

"So this should be more comfortable" she said with a pleased smile "And the best thing is you can't move unless you break my arm." "Hmpf…" was the only response. It was really quite a pleasant feeling to lie like this. She could hear his heart beating. Calm and steady. Anna could also feel the warmth of his body. It really felt quite…comfortable.

"…Kratos?"

"Yes?"

"Why haven't we done this before?"

"What do you…"

"I mean lying like this. It feels so nice and I wonder why we never thought of doing that."

"…"

"…Well, I can think of why" She cuddled to him "We should do this again. It really is pretty…nice."

After some minutes she felt that she was falling asleep. "Don't move, please!" she said, although he wasn't moving at all "Please…stay…" Seconds after the woman had said that, Anna fell asleep.

* * *

><p><em>Ahhh…now I remember why I like this town. That I forget something like this…Well that I remember it now is the only thing that matters. Oh and the reason why Kratos couldn't be here, is because of the maid. He really doesn't have to know that I was jealous. Even when I only think about her I get a bit mad again. But this was really harmless compared to other things. I don't want to think about what happened in Asgard…Really I lost my temper there. But we are far away from this particular story…for now.<em>

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><p><strong>Hope you liked this chapter!<strong>

**Please review so I know for certain!**

**Thank you for reading!**


	12. Oncoming Problems

And hello again!

Look at that! I'm still able to write Tales-Fanfictions. Forgive me for the long Tales-Break, but well the other stories kept me busy. But Chapter 13 is already finished so it won't happen again. (hopefully)

Anyway, please enjoy Chapter 12!

**I do not own the characters of locations of Tales of Symphonia.**

* * *

><p>"Say it again!" Anna demanded grinning. She sat beside Kratos, who was watching the campfire. Noishe was looking at the two quite amused. "Oh come on! Please say it again!" the brunette woman said smiling. Their camping place was near the town of Iselia, the town of the Oracle. Once this fact would have caused her to nearly burst out of excitement, but now it was just a fact for her. The only thing that did bother the young woman was the fact that one of the human ranches was nearby. Every Grand Cardinal was looking for her, well, was looking for the Cruxis Crystal on her chest and the thought that one of them was close didn't really make her feel comfortable.<p>

"What should I repeat exactly?" he asked after some moments.

"You know very well what I mean!" Anna answered "Please! Please! Just those three little words and I'll be satisfied." Why was he resisting so much?

"It's really not hard to say! I say it all the time!" She tilted her head and smile even brighter.

He sighed. "Alright. I will say it again."

Anna grinned. "Finally you give in. Okay, now say it!" she demanded sounding really excited. Again some moments passed till he spoke.

"You were right" Kratos said and looked like it had been the most ridiculous thing she had ever convinced him to do.

"Oh, that sounds so unbelievably nice!" Anna said giggling "And was it really that hard to say?"

"It wasn't but I don't see why I had to repeat it" he simply answered.

"You really don't see it, do you? This was the first time I was right and you weren't. Usually it's the other way round. I just needed to hear it one more time; because I have the feeling it was the first and last time."

He looked at her.

"You know, because you're usually all-knowing" Anna answered his silent question.

"I'm far away from all-knowing" Kratos responded.

"Pfft…Sure!" the young woman said, while rolling her eyes. She blew some strands of her hair out of her face.

"What makes you think that I am?"

Again she smiled. "Know what? I think I will act this time like you, and won't answer this question. But just that you know; you are sometimes far too modest. Really. At times I think you just don't tell me something about you, because you think it will…intimidate me."

Anna lay down next to him. She was lying on her back, so she could still look into his face. "I only know the Cruxis stuff about you. And weirdly enough you only answer questions about Cruxis, but you always fall silent when I ask…different stuff."

"For example?"

"Your hometown. I clearly remember that I asked you about your hometown couple of days ago, but I never got an answer." Anna was really trying to get to know him better. Apart from being a Seraph she knew really nothing about him. And that made her a bit angry and of course extremely curious.

"Meltokio."

"Mel-what?" she asked and raised her eyebrows.

"That is my hometown, although I doubt that you can call it that after four thousand years."

Anna looked at him surprised. Was he really talking about something private right now that wasn't connected to Cruxis?

"Where is it? I mean, I know it must be in Tethe'alla, 'cause I've never heard about it before, but where exactly?"

"On the western continent, Fooji. Quite in the north." Her eyes widened a bit. It wasn't like him to answer so…openly.

"Is it an important town?" she asked growing more and more interested.

"It is the capital of Tethe'alla and the residence of the Royal Family" the Seraph answered.

"A king? You mean, Tethe'alla is ruled by a king? It's one giant kingdom?"

"Yes."

"Wow. That's…interesting! And what did you do there, before you well, …before the whole Cruxis thing started."

"I…protected the Royal Family."

Anna opened her mouth, sighed suddenly and closed it again.

"Don't you want to proceed asking questions?" he wanted to know.

"I would really like to, but…you have that certain look on your face, you always have when we're about to approach an uncomfortable topic. You had the same look on your face, when I asked you about how angels are created." That really had been a quite…uncomfortable conversation.

"So I will leave it like that…for today."

She crossed her arms behind her head. "You know it's kinda weird when you are so talkative. But you could do that more often."

For a moment there was silence, then Kratos said "May I ask you a question?"

Surprised she looked at him, but answered smiling "Sure! Ask me anything you like!"

"You mentioned once that you studied foreign languages. I would like to know why."

For a while Anna just stared at him. "Kratos, even I can't remember when I said that. Man, do you remember everything I've said and done?"

He didn't answer.

"Well, back to your question. I studied those languages, because I worked at the Tower of Mana. I took care of the library. I started when I was about 10, I guess. Just helping my father." Anna fell silent for a moment, when she remembered her father. He had died shortly after that.

She proceeded. "I just cleaned and sorted the books. And then when I was a bit older than 11 I got interested in all those languages I couldn't read and understand. So I decided to learn them. It took a while, but then I was able to read every book in the library. Actually I was planning to read every book in this library, but barely halfway through I got…captured."

Anna sighed. Not because of the memory of her being captured, she sighed because it still annoyed her that she hadn't read all of those books.

She looked at him again. The young woman smiled and asked "Was my story really this interesting that you have to think about it that hard?" His thoughtful look vanished or rather became less intensive.

"It was…interesting" he answered. Anna sat up. "I wouldn't call it interesting, but it's flattering that you say something like that." For a while she just watched him.

A soft breeze played with his auburn hair and the shadows of the night made his already dark face even darker. He looked like he was deeply lost in thought. Anna liked it when he looked like that. It was the only time when his expression was somehow…peaceful. He was always concerned about something. It seemed like it was impossible for him to just stop worrying. And even now, in this peaceful moment, he couldn't stop worrying about her.

"Is your…Crystal alright?" he asked, sounding even gloomier than usual.

That was a question she hadn't expected. He had never asked her about the Crystal this…directly. It took some moments to answer.

"Yes, everything's alright" she answered still a little bit confused.

"Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure! Everything's fine!" Anna was already annoyed by his concern._ Why does he never believe me when I say it's alright?_

"I was merely concerned about your condition" the Seraph answered.

Anna groaned "I know that, Kratos, but when I say I'm fine then I am fine. I wouldn't lie about something like that, okay? So you don't have to ask a thousand times if I'm sure."

He opened his mouth to respond, but she cut him off.

"Look, it hasn't been burning for weeks! Not even the slightest bit! Sometimes I completely forget that this thing is there! I haven't felt pain or fear or something like that. Not even my nightmares make it burn. In fact I'm more than okay. I'm happy!" She looked at him seriously. Anna hated it when he was this worried about her. It made her feel like she was the reason for his permanent unhappiness.

"You are happy?" the Seraph asked unbelieving.

"Of course I am! Why do you think I keep smiling all day?" Anna responded. She tilted her head and moved a bit closer to him.

"What were you thinking I am?" she asked curious.

"Not…exactly happy" he answered.

"You mean like you are every day?" she teased. She didn't get an answer. The young woman rolled her eyes.

"Well, you know I just don't like being unhappy all the time" Anna explained. Now she got an answer she hadn't expected at all.

"You think I'm unhappy?"

"Ahhhm….Yes? I mean you look very melancholic and stuff" she answered confused. Surprised and curious Anna asked then "So you aren't unhappy?"

"Like I said earlier I'm merely concerned about your well-being. That doesn't make me discontent" he answered simply.

"Ooookay…Then I guess it's part of your nature to look gloomy all day" Anna responded. And then suddenly she asked hesitating "I…know that sounds a bit strange, but I do play a part in your….happiness, right?" her cheeks were slightly red "I just want to know, that's all." He looked at her a bit surprised. "Why shouldn't you?" he asked and her jaw dropped out of amazement.

"Seriously?" Her answer sounded quite surprised. He simply nodded. Again he wasn't wasting any words. A very pleased expression spread over her face. Then she turned her face to Noishe and asked "And what about you? Am I not getting on your nerves too much?" The protozoan's tail started to wag and licked her once all across the face.

"Okay, there's no translation needed" the woman answered smiling, but then she added "Yuck! Next time, Noishe, not the face." However, her smile didn't disappear. "Now I've got to wash it off" she said and shook her head slightly. Anna stood up and wanted to make the first step, but then she suddenly looked at her companion. She narrowed her eyes. "Is this another occasion where I'm not allowed to go alone?" Her question was answered by Noishe who was already next to her.

The young woman sighed heavily. "You know sometimes I feel like a prisoner…or like a small child." For a second there was silence. Then she frowned for a moment, before a small smile played on her lips. "No, Noishe, this time I think you can stay by the fireplace" she pointed at the Seraph "You're coming with me this time. If you are so" she emphasized the last word "concerned about my well-being then you have to pay the prize for that."

Without a single word he accompanied her to the nearby creek. She kneeled before it and splashed fresh water into her face. "Ahh!" she sighed relieved. The short haired woman got up again. The Seraph just wanted to turn around again, when she softly pulled his face down and kissed him. She knew that her hands and her face had to be quite cold and of course wet, but she didn't care. Like always she enjoyed kiss. He probably didn't know (or did and didn't boast around with it), but he was a really, really good kisser. Anna then released him again (and stopping kissing him was quite hard for her) and whispered into his ear "Just that you know, you play very, _very_ big part in my happiness."

She let go of him and started walking. After a few steps she turned around. "Has anyone ever told you that you're insanely tall? My neck hurts from kissing you, even though you lowered your head. Or maybe…I'm just quite small." She thought about that for some moments, but then she said "No, you're very tall." With her left hand she touched her neck. "Seriously. It's aching." A bright smile appeared on her face. "Know what? I like that. Nearly as much as your voice, but I have the feeling that your voice is going to be my all time favourite. It sounds just far too awesome!"

Anna took his hand. "The only thing I don't like about you is your constant worried look." She sighed with acted desperation "But something has to be wrong with you after all. And I'm glad it's only that." "I am a Seraph and responsible for the misery of both worlds. But the only thing that bothers you is my expression?" He sounded unbelieving. "Yes" she replied and in her eyes was pure honesty.

"I'm starting to doubt your taste in men." Surprised she raised her eyebrows.

"Wait a minute! Does that mean you didn't doubt my taste in men before?"

"I did but not as much as now."

"Okay" suddenly her expression changed from surprised to slightly angry "Hey, what's wrong with my taste in men?"

"I'm not saying that there's something wrong with it. I'm merely thinking that your decisions are not very wise."

"Not very wise?" she rolled her eyes "If no one has told you this before, I do now. Love is neither logical nor rational. I mean no feeling is. I really love you no matter who you are or who you were." Her look was determined yet friendly.

"I see" was his only answer. Anna tilted her head. "Sometimes, Kratos, I think you only say such things just to make me say how much I love you." The woman giggled. "I would be so proud of you, if that would be true. But unfortunately you always mean what you say….Except the thing that Noishe is a dog, but apart from that..."

They arrived at the camping place. Anna lay down next to Noishe, but only because of the fact that she had found out that he made an excellent pillow. Actually she would have loved to sleep next to the Seraph, but well,…she had accepted the fact that Triet had been a one time thing. Much to her regret.

She grinned. Then the woman turned her head to her companion. "By the way, I think I have great taste in men. Probably the best. However, I doubt your taste in women. Choosing me, most likely the most hyperactive woman of both worlds and on top of that the most cheerful, seems to me….not very wise. It sort of clashes with your character" For a second she frowned, then her eyes widened and she jumped up.

"No way! Am I asleep? Am I dreaming or was this really the hint of a smile on your lips?" she asked, while smiling herself. She looked at Noishe. "What do you think? Am I hallucinating?" The protozoan thought about it for some moments. Eventually he nodded. Anna sighed. "I know. There's no way he would ever smile. That's completely impossible!" The Seraph looked at her and then shook his head. Something in his eyes caught her attention. "What?" she asked.

"Nothing."

"Come on. Tell me! I promise I won't make fun of you anymore."

"…I was just being reminded that despite my mistakes in the past I seem to be able to still make wise choices."

"Huh?" her confusion was replaced by realization, followed by her blush out of embarrassment "Oh. I see." After some second she said smiling "Sweet as always. You don't show it often, but you have quite a romantic side."

She came closer and wrapped her arms around his neck. After three months of travelling with him she had lost all reservation. And much to her surprise he seemed to be less distracted, confused or whatever he was, by her behaviour. To sum it up he had gotten used to "physical contact".

With one hand she caressed his cheek, the other one was resting at back of his head. She loved playing with his hair. The woman smiled, but now her smile was softer and warmer.

"By the way, doing this while sitting is much more comfortable for my neck. I know I'm repeating myself, but you are incredibly tall." Their lips were almost touching. Anna could feel his breath stroking over her skin. Her heartbeat sped up and she felt how blood rushed to her cheeks.

And then Kratos kissed her. For her the kiss was far too short. Like always far too brief to satisfy her. And a small part in her believed that he was feeling the same way. "For someone who hadn't had contact with humans for four thousand years, you're…pretty good" she admitted smirking. With his right hand he wiped some of her strands out of her face. "As good as every other human. Perhaps even better." And while Anna was kissing him again she thought "_So much better than any other human!_"

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><p><em>Oh! Oh! Finally we're there! <strong>What do you mean?<strong> Oh come on! Don't act like you wouldn't know! Just a few days later we…well, rather I…**You are glad, because we arrived at this part of the story? I don't recall this being one of my favourite memories. **But it's one of mine! **…**Don't give me that look! Okay, I admit I was terrified when it happened, but now I like it. Till now the story was quite romantic. Don't get me wrong, I like romantic, but after a while it gets boring. And now comes a bit of action! It was exciting! **I do remember nearly having a heart attack.** Don't be ridiculous! Besides so many other bad things happened later. This memory is actually still a harmless one. **You were covered in blood! **Hey, don't spoil the story for them! And that's supposed to be a good story-teller…_

_Okay, where were we? Ah, I remember. After one week we were camping near…hm…. Help me out please! Was it Palmacosta or a House of Salvation? **It happened almost next to Iselia. **Oh, right! Thanks! …Now I'm thinking about it, that was the last time we were close to Iselia, before…Well, ähm…anyway._

_We were close to Iselia and one evening my Crystal was a bit overheating. I don't know how else to call it. It wasn't something serious, just something it did now and again. Nothing painful just a bit…uncomfortable. There was a small pond nearby or something and I wanted to cool it a little bit. And for the first and last time I went there alone. (After that event he got even more paranoid and I couldn't go anywhere without being followed.) **You do realize that I can still hear you? Besides that event showed me how careless I had been.** You overreacted. Like always._

_So I went to that pond and was all alone. **Not all alone…**Yeah…Okay, I admit it. It's one…of the more…painful memories. Still I like it! **One of the many things I will never be able to understand about you.**_

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><p>Anna sat in front of a little pond and looked at her reflection. With her left hand, which she had dived into the cold water before, she was cooling her Crystal. From time to time it seemed like the Exsphere was absorbing more body-heat and Mana than it could handle and caused a light burn in Anna's chest. To ease the annoying feeling she was cooling the Crystal with water.<p>

Amazingly she had managed to come here all alone. Usually at least one of her companions went with her, but today they hadn't followed her. The young woman preferred it that way. Especially tonight. She didn't want Kratos to worry about the Crystal again.

Relieved she realized how the burning slowly vanished. "_Thanks, that that's over now_" she thought. Right in the moment where she was about to get up, a reflection on the water caught her attention. For a whole second she just stared at it. Anna's eyes widened in shock and her heart started beating as fast as it could.

In the moment where she was about to move, she felt how something cut her back. Surprised (or shocked) by the sudden pain her voice didn't function anymore and her scream turned into just gasping for air. She could see that some of her blood had painted the grass crimson red and even in the water was a bit of her blood.

Anna barely managed to remain in a sitting position. She could already feel the blood loss. Then she fell over. Anna was lying now on the ground. The pain from her back was pulsating through her whole body. It felt just like at the ranch. Eventually she managed to turn her head to her attacker. "Seriously, getting close to you without him around was quite a challenge" the half-elf said while slightly shaking his head "I have to admit that this opportunity was more created by luck than by anything else." Anna could only stare at him. Then she whispered with a weak voice "Yuan…"

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><p><strong>I like this cliff-hanger. Especially since it's nearly forcing me to write the next chapter as fast as I can.<strong>

**And for the part where Anna says that she likes his voice. Yes, I'm a Cam Clarke Fan. Seriously this man has a wonderful voice!**

**Anyway, hope you liked Chapter 12!**

**Reviews are appreciated! **


	13. Bait

Chapter 13

Here we go.

**I do not own the characters or the locations of Tales of Symphonia.**

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><p>Breathing was getting harder and harder. Every breath hurt. The air she inhaled didn't feel cool and fresh like it should have been. No, it burnt in her lungs. The wound on her back, however, hurt far more. Anna had no idea how deep it was, but the woman could clearly feel how the blood was running down her back. She was losing much blood, pretty fast. She knew that she would lose consciousness in about 20 minutes if the cut stayed untreated and as things were now, it would definitely stay untreated. The situation she was in was indeed painful, but fortunately it wasn't unbearable. She could handle pain. She had had the best training for that at the Asgard ranch. But the fact that she had felt worse didn't soothe the pain.<p>

Anna was all alone with a Seraph, who would most likely kill her, unable to run away or to cry for help. Yes, she was without doubt screwed.

She was lying on the ground and tried to stay as calm as possible. Panicking would only make it worse. _Yeah, like that would be possible. _Even if she couldn't scream (she was too busy with getting enough air in her lungs), she was at least able to look into the half-elf's face. It didn't exactly help her to stay calm, but it kept her from panicking. It helped her to focus on the here and now.

Lord Yuan looked at her half interested half bored, like he wasn't sure if she was worth taking a closer look or not. "It is truly amazing" he said still observing her. He frowned for a second. Eventually he shook his head. "It seems like I don't know him as well as I thought I would." "Wha..What…the hell…are…you….ta-talking about?" Anna asked silently gasping for air. Talking was more exhausting than she had expected.

Despite her expectations she got an answer. "It is incredible, but you seem to be quite special for him. To think that he takes such risks only to be able to stay in your company." There was a faint smile on his lips, like he was smiling about a joke. "I never thought it possible."

Anna was slowly getting what he was implying and the fact that he did imply something frightened her. If Yuan knew something about her and Kratos, then…she didn't even want to think about what could happen.

"You…are…go-going to…kill me, …right?" she asked weakly. Yuan looked at her. "That depends on the further development of this situation. But eventually you will die. If not by my hands…" Anna interrupted him. "If not by you…Pronyma will…take care of me. Yeah…that sounds…logical." She took a deep breath. Her lungs ached.

"If I'm going…to die…either way, then…let me…a-ask you a question. Why didn't you…kill me…right away, instead of letting me bleed…to death?" Yuan remained silent. The woman kept looking at him. The half-elf looked quite relaxed, but he seemed to be waiting for something. His weapon (Anna had no idea how to describe it, but it was big and quite intimidating) was still pointed at her. She wasn't really disappointed that he hadn't answered her question. Actually she was more surprised about the fact that he had talked to her at all.

Still…why was she still alive? Then her eyes widened. "No…No!" and for a second her voice sounded strong "I'm the…bait." She stared at him. No, that was impossible! No, Yuan couldn't believe that she was this important for him. He couldn't. He simply couldn't.

Without wasting a look at her the half-elf answered "Yes, unfortunately I need you to put pressure on him. Inconvenient, but I hope effective." _Shit!_

"And…why…do…you think that this is…going to work?"

"Because I have seen you two together. A rather interesting sight" he replied. Yuan sounded impatient.

"Seen us together? What…do you mean?"

"I have seen how you interact with each other. I must admit I was more than just surprised."

"What? W-When?" Anna couldn't think of an occasion where they could have been watched.

Annoyed by her constant questions he said impatient "Two days ago rather late in the evening. He was amazingly careless; otherwise I would have never gotten so close to you. But I assume that spending time with a human makes you careless."

Anna had stopped listening after he had said "Two days ago". With horror she realized that Yuan had been this close to them. And she clenched her fists, when she remembered what the half-elf had seen in the said evening.

…

"_So Noishe was a bird?" Anna asked surprised and looked at the Protozoan, who was lying on the ground enjoying the last warm rays of the sun. After her question he lifted his head a bit curious, but decided that dozing was more interesting and closed his eyes again._

_Her other companion sat next to her. Like always rested his elbows on his knees and the shadows of the oncoming night made him look gloomier than he already was. "Yes. When I met him he was still a bird. He later transformed into this form" Kratos explained. His look rested on her._

_Anna tilted her head. "And his next form is going to be…?" she asked. "A human" was the simple answer. The young woman looked quite surprised. "A human?" she looked at Noishe "Wow! That's quite amazing that a sole being can transform that many times in a single life." She smiled, but there was a hint of sadness in her eyes. "Hard to imagine that something can live for such a long time. All the things you can experience in a life this long."_

"_It's not as desirable as it sounds" the Seraph answered. All the sadness in her eyes was gone when she replied "Yeah, you're right. I would probably die because of boredom. I'm really not made for that." She moved some strands out of her face._

"_May I ask you something?" the young woman asked. "If you wish to" he simply replied._

"_How old are you? Without counting the four thousand years of course."_

"_Why do you want to know?"_

_Anna jerked her shoulders. "I just would like to know. I mean you said you stopped aging back then and I would like to know at what age you stopped. You know how old I am."_

"_28."_

"_28?"_

_He nodded. She looked at him surprised. Then she said "And you are not lying to me?" "I have no reason to." She raised her eyebrows. Eventually she said shaking her head "Eight years! You are eight years older than me! Oh dear! I don't wanna know what my mother would say to this. I bet she would yell at me till I go deaf. Eight years!" She looked at him unbelieving. "You don't look like 28. Seriously! You look…younger."_

_His look made her stop talking. She blushed slightly. "Ähm…sorry! I was just surprised that's all. And since you're four thousands years older than me anyway…" She looked at him and narrowed her eyes. "Eight years…" Eventually she sighed, but smiled again. "At least one more thing I know about you. Slowly the list is getting longer" now Anna looked quite pleased "Still…there are so many things about you that don't make any sense."_

"_For example?" he asked. The young woman rolled her eyes. "No, I'm not going to answer that. I know how such a conversation ends between us. I say something wrong, you stop talking and the mood is ruined." She came closer to him. "And today you are unusually talkative" Anna smiled "Well, you still talk less than any other person I know, but at least you answer my questions."_

"_Simply answering your questions makes me talkative?"_

"_When I think about how you were at the start, yes. I mean our conversation back then were basically me babbling all day long." Then suddenly she pressed her lips against his. Briefly, but that was enough for her heart to jump. "And of course I couldn't do that at the beginning either" she said smiling._

…

Anna hissed some swear words in the ground. This …Seraph knew basically everything that was important. He knew about them and that she knew about Cruxis. She couldn't think of words to express her desperation and anger.

_Buy some time! _"How…how low must…someone sink to do…what you're doing?" she said to him "How…desperate you must be!" Perhaps it was just her imagination, but she thought that Yuan had glanced at her briefly. However, he didn't say anything.

"You know you…should have done it…dif…differently. You should have made me scream…or something. Like I am now…it is…going…to take a while till…he gets here" Anna said and felt how the blood loss slowly took its prize.

"You are forgetting something, woman" Yuan suddenly answered. "And that would….would be?"

He sighed. "Even if you don't scream, your blood will lead them here." It took her some moments to get it. _Noishe!_ "You ba…" she wanted to hiss, but she was cut off by a burning inside her chest. Anna had forgotten about the Crystal. The pain she felt and the fear were more than enough to satisfy its hunger. She felt how the Crystal pulled on her soul. And with a scream (although she had try to suppress it) a part of her soul was absorbed into the Cruxis Crystal.

"I have never seen that someone reacts this strong to an Exspere" Yuan commented and looked at the now glowing Crystal on her chest. Anna, however, didn't hear what he said. She was too exhausted. The blood loss and now the Crystal had been too much. She barely registered that Yuan turned his head to his left and smiled. Then she lost consciousness.

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><p>Anna was confused by several things after she had woken up. Firstly, she looked at a wooden ceiling. Secondly, she was lying in a bed. Thirdly, someone had bandaged her and she wore clothes that weren't hers. But what confused her the most (and even startled her) was the fact that she looking at a blond woman with blue eyes.<p>

"Woah!" Anna sat up, but it was too fast for her body. Her head was spinning. "Easy, my dear!" the blond woman said. She was probably sixty and her blond hair had already started to turn white. Her eyes, however, had maintained a youthful expression. The woman looked sprightly and had a very kind face. "You shouldn't move so quickly. Your wounds haven't healed yet" she said softly.

"Where…where am I?" Anna asked still confused. She was in a small but very nice room. The bed she was lying in was next to a window. Anna could see wonderful, big trees and a blue sky above them. The elderly woman touched her shoulder to calm her down. "You are in Iselia, my dear. The town of the Oracle."

"Iselia?" Anna asked with a high pitched voice. How could that be? The thing with Yuan…They had been near Iselia, but not close. It would have taken them two or maybe three days to get there.

"What happened?" she asked. The blond woman explained with a soft voice "My husband found you alone in the woods, when he returned form a pilgrimage. He said that he thought it was a miracle that you were still alive. You had lost a lot of blood. He treated your wounds as well as possible and brought you here. Thanks to Martel, he traveled with a horse; otherwise you might not have made it. But you are alive and that is everything that counts."

"Alone? Your husband found me…alone? There was no one there?" Anna wanted to know and felt how panic started to develop in her chest. The woman tilted her head. "No, I'm afraid not. My husband said that you were alone in the wilderness. Should there have been someone? Did someone travel with you?"

The brown haired woman barely heard her. They had found her alone. Did that mean that Yuan…had taken him back to…Derris Kharlan? Did Yuan's plan work? Had the sight of her covered in her own blood been enough to force him back? Anna felt how tears ran down her cheeks. If Yuan's plan hadn't worked, he would have been there. Kratos would have been there! But she had been alone and that could only mean…

She started sobbing and buried her face in her hands. _No. No. No. NO! He can't be gone! He can't be back in Derris Kharlan! He can't be! _The elderly woman looked at her concerned. "What's wrong? Could it be…There was someone with you, right?" Anna managed to nod between her sobs. "My dear I hate to ask you this, but were you attacked by Desians?" The young woman lifted her head and looked at her. "Yes…" Anna lied, but her voice broke off.

Desians…If it only had been Desians! If it had been Kvar, Pronyma or any other Grand Cardinal then it would have never ended like this. But it had been Yuan. And now…she was alone.

"Could it be…" the elderly woman hesitated "…Could it be that this person was taken by the Desians?" Yes, if Anna had a normal life this could have happened, but she didn't have a normal life. Taken by the Desians sounded a bit ridiculous in this context, but well, in a weird and twisted way it was kind of true. The young woman nodded.

"I am sorry!" the blond woman said softly "Was it someone very important to you?" "Not…important. He was everything for me" she said silently. And now he was in a place as far away as the earth from the sky. The elderly woman touched her cheek gently. "I know how you feel. I've lost dear ones because of the Desians too. But the pain will go away eventually." "Doubt it" Anna mumbled through her last tears.

She still felt miserable when she wiped the tears off. "I'm sorry. I should have…asked for your name." The woman smiled. "Don't worry. You have every right to show your grief. My name is Phaidra." The young woman managed to return the smile. "I'm Anna. …Thank you, for saving me!"

Phaidra took Anna's hand and squeezed it softly. "You don't need to thank me. I'm glad that my husband saved you. With my children gone, it gets sometimes a bit lonely. So Anna…" she smiled at her "I'll get you something to eat and then we'll see what we can do for your injuries." Phaidra stoop up. Halfway through the room Anna said "Thank you! I really mean it! The kindness that you show me is not a matter of course." Phaidra only smiled and left the room. _The last person that showed me this kind of kindness paid dearly for it._

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><p><strong>It feels good to add a new person to the story. It's a nice change.<strong>

**And yes Kratos will be gone for a while, but don't worry he's not as far away as Anna thinks.**

**Hope you liked it and please review!**


	14. The Town of the Oracle

Chapter 14!

Hope you'll enjoy it!

**I do not own the characters or the locations of Tales of Symphonia.**

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><p>Since Anna could remember she hated the feel of gels. The way how they were absorbed by her skin always gave her chills. And the fact that Phaidra was right now looking at her scarred back didn't make her feel exactly more comfortable.<p>

"All done" the elderly woman said and bandaged Anna again. "Seriously?" she looked over her shoulder "That was fast." "If you know how it doesn't take long. It looks good so far…" "But?" Anna asked. She heard Phaidra sigh silently. "It is going to take a while till the cut is fully closed. It is rather large." Anna simply nodded. "That's okay." _It's not like I have something better to do, but to wait._

"And I'm afraid it will leave a scar" the elderly woman added. Suddenly Anna smiled. "One more won't make a difference" she said. The young woman caught Phaidra looking at her back a bit too long. After she had realized that Anna was watching her she turned her head away slightly embarrassed.

"I'm sorry. I should be more considerate" Phaidra answered. The young woman shook her head. "No, it's okay. I know it must look strange and well, gross. I can't blame you. I would stare too." Phaidra looked at her worried. Then she gave her a white dress. The fabric was soft and smelled fresh. It was the kind of clothing Anna had worn Luin. "Here. Your other clothing was damaged and full of blood. I tried everything but I couldn't get the blood out. I had to throw it away."

Anna took it and smiled slightly. Suddenly she asked "So you…dressed me after I got here?" Her cheeks turned deep red. Phaidra smiled and answered softly "Yes, but don't be embarrassed. I'm a mother and a woman. There was nothing I haven't seen before. And my husband wasn't even close when I did that" she winked at her "I didn't want him to see such a pretty woman. I'm too old to look for another husband."

Anna nodded, but her cheeks were still red. She turned around, took the shirt off she was wearing and got into the dress. She was surprised how well it fitted. "Is that one of yours?" Anna asked. She and the woman were about the same height. Phaidra shook her head. "No, one of my daughters. But since she isn't here at the moment, she doesn't need it." Anna tilted her head. "Why is she gone?" Phaidra smiled. "My children are spread across Sylvarant. My son is married and lives in Palmacosta. My older daughter is married and my other one is engaged. They are both on a pilgrimage. They will return in one or two months. But I guess they will soon settle down somewhere else."

The brown haired woman looked a bit confused. "Why do you think that? Is it normal for the children here to move away when they get married? Where I come from most of the people stay in their hometown." If Anna hadn't been captured, she probably would have stayed in Luin until the day she had died.

Phaidra smiled sadly. "No, actually it's not normal, but my family is obliged to do it. So that in case of a catastrophe not the whole family is wiped out." "I don't understand" Anna answered truthfully. The blond woman closed her eyes for a moment. She looked quite sad. "Because my family is the family of the Chosen One." Anna's jaw dropped. "We have to do everything to make sure that the line of the Chosen won't be broken. That's why we are spread across the whole world. It's a wonderful duty, but sometimes it makes me sad that my children are so far away from me. But perhaps my youngest daughter stays with me here in Iselia."

"So…so the Chosen One…is…" Anna stammered. Phaidra nodded. "Yes, she is my cousin. She is doing well, I hope. I haven't heard from her for a while, but according to my knowledge she broke two seals till now. I pray for her every day." _Pray that she won't make it!_ Anna thought shocked. She couldn't believe that from all the people of Sylvarant a member of this particular family had saved her. The family that was doomed to sacrifice a young girl for a journey that promised salvation. If they would only know what this journey really meant. Anna knew that an early death was a better fate for the Chosen than fulfilling her mission. Losing someone's memories, his heart and his soul was worse than the most painful death.

"Everything alright?" Phaidra asked. Anna needed some moments to answer. "Yes, I'm fine. It's just…I would have never thought that…I'm just surprised that's all." The elderly woman smiled. "Good. But you don't have to treat me special or anything. My cousin is the Chosen One not me." With one hand she touched Anna's forehead. "Well, you feel a bit hot and your skin is pale. You are sure you don't want to eat more?" The food Phaidra had brought her was mostly left untouched. Anna couldn't swallow the smallest bite.

"Yes, I'm sure. But…may I have some water?" she asked. "Of course, my dear" Phaidra said and smiled at her kindly. It didn't even take two minutes to get Anna a cup of water. The water felt pleasantly cool in her throat. "Thanks" she said silently. The elderly woman caressed her hand. "You should get some sleep. You are still exhausted." Before Anna could protest, she raised her hand and said "Don't try to act brave! I have three children. I know when someone needs sleep. Don't worry! You are safe here."

Anna looked at her. Then she gave in. "Alright. I'll rest. But…" she hesitated "how can I ever repay you for all this?" "You can repay me by recovering" Phaidra said kindly "And now sleep for a while.

Anna let herself sink into the soft pillow as soon as Phaidra had left the room. It was so soft! It felt like a cloud, but exactly that would make it for Anna impossible to fall asleep. She looked out of the window. It was probably past midday, but the sun was still high in the sky. The wind was rustling through the leaves. It was a sound that could lull everyone to sleep, but Anna was too worried to even think about sleep.

She had no idea, what had happened after she had passed out. She could only guess what had happened and that was worse than anything else. Had Yuan's plan worked or not? Was Kratos back in Derris Kharlan or not? She didn't know. She knew nothing.

Anna clenched her fists. "I'm such an idiot!" she said angry into the pillow. The more she thought about it the more logical it became. He had to be back in Derris Kharlan. There was no other explanation. If he had resisted, Yuan would have killed her. Her being alive proved that Yuan's plan had worked.

"It worked…" she whispered and felt how tears were running down her cheeks. With one fist she hit the pillow. Like always when she was she sad Anna was also angry. And right now she was furious. "You useless human! He told you not to walk off alone! He told you a million times! But you don't listen! You never do!" she said between her sobs "That's your fault! Yours only! If you hadn't been so stupid this wouldn't have happened! You stupid, little…"

She insulted herself for quite some time till all the anger was out or at least till she was too exhausted to proceed. But even though she was so tired she couldn't stop thinking about him. She couldn't stop blaming herself.

Eventually she was so annoyed by herself that she sat up and said angry "Stop the self pity! Stop it! That's not going to help you! It didn't at the ranch and it won't help you now! Pull it together! He's gone and crying won't change that. You have to live with that. Crying is okay but dwelling in self pity is not!"

Anna wiped some tears away and looked out of the window. It looked so wonderfully peaceful how the wind brushed through the trees. "I'm sorry I walked off" she whispered, knowing that no one was listening. She took a deep breath. "It's going to be okay. Focus on the present. Just sleep now and worry about the rest later." The young woman lay down again. However, her self control crumbled after a few moments. She started sobbing again. Not knowing what had happened was awful and hurt quite a bit…but knowing that you lost the one you love hurt far more.

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><p>She blinked. Her vision was a bit blurred. She blinked again. After a second Anna jumped up and even fell out of the bed. "Ouch!" she said and touched her head. Then she looked at the reason for her fall. Two children were standing next to the bed and looked at her quite startled, but also curious. A boy and a girl. Both were probably not older than seven. The boy had black curly hair and the girl had the same hair that she wore in pigtails. And they had the same brown eyes. Most likely brother and sister. The girl however seemed to be older than the boy.<p>

"And with whom do I have the pleasure?" Anna asked and got up. The children made a step backwards. They looked frightened. "Hey, don't be afraid. I don't bite, well at least not very often. My name is Anna" she said smiling. Some moments passed then the girl said silently "T-Teresa." "That's a pretty name, Teresa. And is this your little brother?" "I'm not little!" the boy protested and pouted.

Anna smiled. "Oh I'm sorry. Of course you're not small! But I still don't know your name." The boy seemed to think about if he could trust her or not, but eventually he answered "Toby." "Nice to meet you!" Anna tilted her head "So why did you wake me up?" Both looked a bit embarrassed at the ground. "Did Phaidra let you visit me?" she asked.

Suddenly Teresa pleaded "Don't tell Phaidra that we woke you up! We promised not to!" "She'll be angry with us!" Toby added and looked terrified by the possibility that the woman could be angry at him. Anna touched the boys head. "I promise I won't tell her, but only if you tell me why you came here in the first place" the woman said.

The children nodded. "Phaidra told us that she has a visitor. A special one" Teresa explained.

"Special?" Anna raised her eyebrows.

"Uh hu! Because Jonathan found you alone in the woods!" the girl answered.

"Jonathan?"

"That's her husband!" Toby replied.

"Ah right. She already told me that he found me" Anna said.

The boy plucked at her dress. "Why were you in the woods? Phaidra doesn't want to tell us!"

"Because…" Anna didn't know how to explain that to a child "Because…I…was on a…pilgrimage and then…I got hurt. But thanks to…Martel Jonathan found me." It felt wrong to use Martel's name like this.

"Why were you hurt?" Toby asked. "I was…reckless. That's why I got hurt." That was true. She had been reckless. Anna felt how the guilt rose in her chest again.

"Why? What did you do?" the boy asked.

"I…ah…" but the woman was interrupted by the girl.

"Mommy says that you were stupid to get so close to the ranch and says that that was your own fault" Teresa said with the innocence of a child.

"Well, tell your mother…." but Anna could stop her temper just in time "…Tell your mother that she's right. It's really stupid to get so close to the Human ranch." Actually she would have liked to tell that woman everything, but that. But not in front of her children.

"So it's true!" Teresa said with big eyes "Desians hurt you!" _No, not Desians! A Seraph and he should go to hell for that!" _she thought full of anger. "Well, I…" Anna started.

"Teresa! Toby! What did I say about waking her up?" Phaidra said from the door "I told you that she needs her sleep!"

"We didn't wake her up!" Teresa protested "She was already up!" Toby nodded energetic.

"Is that true?" the woman asked Anna.

The young woman smiled and answered "Yeah. I got up and a few minutes later those two ambushed me." Toby grinned.

Phaidra sighed. "Alright. But next time she is asleep, you are not allowed to visit her."

"Aww! Why not? She likes us!" Toby answered.

"When did I say that?" Anna asked.

"You don't like us?" Teresa asked.

"Of course I like you!" the young woman replied quickly.

"Stop besieging her! She's barely out of bed and you don't even let her catch her breath. Let her eat something" Phaidra said strictly. More kindly she added "You must be starving, Anna."

"Actually I'm not…" she began, but Toby cut her off. "You must eat Phaidra's cooking! It's so tasty! Mommy doesn't cook so well!" He took her by the hand and pulled her to the door. "Don't let your mother hear you!" Phaidra warned the boy.

"But it's true!" he answered. The elderly woman laughed and Anna couldn't suppress a smile either.

Lead by Toby she went downstairs into a kitchen with a big table. Anna could smell something quite delicious and her stomach rumbled. Teresa giggled. Anna's cheeks were slightly pink when she sat down. Toby was sitting to her left and Teresa to her right. "Ähm…where…" Anna said and tried to ignore the curious looks of the children "…where is your husband?" Phaidra put something that looked like stew into a bowl. "He's at the Temple of Martel. He shows the tourists and the pilgrims around. He'll be here by sunset" the woman replied cheerfully.

She put the bowl on the table and gave Anna a spoon. "I hope you like it!" Phaidra said smiling. "Thanks! I'm sure I will. It smells delicious!" she replied, but before the spoon had even touched her lips Toby asked "Why are holding the spoon in your left hand?"

"Because I'm left handed" Anna answered.

"And why?"

"I don't know."

"And why don't you know?"

"Toby! Let her eat!" Phaidra said strictly. Toby pouted, but remained silent. Carefully she moved the full spoon to her mouth. She looked at Toby and then at Teresa. Anna opened her mouth. The children were watching her with eagle's eyes, while she was eating. Toby was right. It was delicious!

She had eaten half of the stew, when suddenly Teresa asked "Why do you have a jewel on your chest?" Anna choked and coughed.

"Teresa! You mustn't ask something like that!" Phaidra said serious.

"B-But why not? It looks pretty!" the girl replied.

"It's none of your business!" the woman answered.

"It's okay" Anna said after she had gathered herself again "You know Teresa, this jewel has a…special meaning for me, but I really don't want to talk about it, because it makes me a bit sad and this day is too beautiful to spend it sad."

"Sad? Why sad?" Teresa asked, but Phaidra seemed to have enough.

"So that's it! You surely have something else to do, like helping your mother in the garden" the elderly woman said and shoved the children out of the door.

"Can…can she at least play with us later?" Toby asked.

"We can show her around!" Teresa added. Phaidra sighed.

"Maybe. But now let her some peace." She closed the door.

"Children!" she sighed. Phaidra went to the table. "You are sure you don't want to eat a bit more?" Anna nodded.

"It was delicious, but I'm not hungry anymore." That was the truth. She felt full.

"You look a bit skinny. You could use a bit more weight." The young woman blushed slightly.

"I'm joking, Anna" Phaidra said smiling "Don't take everything so seriously!" She noticed Anna's hand resting on her chest.

"Teresa hit a sore spot, didn't she?"

The young woman nodded and answered "It's not that I would be that sensitive. It just reminded me of the mess I'm in."

"And this is not the kind of problem that gets better through talking to someone?" Phaidra asked and sat down next to her. She touched Anna's hand. "You can tell me. I promise I'll keep it a secret." The young woman bit her lip and shook her head.

"I would like to tell you, but I doubt you would like to hear it. I don't want to burden you with my past."

"Alright" Phaidra answered kindly "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. But if you change your mind" she smiled "I'm a good listener."

"Thank you!" Anna answered smiling herself.

"Good" the blond woman got up "How about you lie down for another hour? And then I show you around Iselia. I bet you haven't been here before. We could even visit my husband. But only if you want to and if your back doesn't hurt too much."

"Yeah. I would love to!" Anna answered.

"I should warn you. As soon as you go outside you won't be able to make a single step, without falling over a kid. I'm sure Teresa and Toby told everyone about you by now. The children of this town are crazy about visitors."

"Oh dear…"

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><p>"And this is our school" Teresa said and pointed at the building in front of them.<p>

"That's really a lovely building for a school" Anna answered and remembered where she had gone to school. The most boring looking house in Sylvarant. This school was indeed nice. Flowers and plants were everywhere.

"You think so?" a blond girl to her right said.

"I don't think it looks pretty" a small boy behind her added.

"Well, perhaps I think it's pretty, because I don't have to go to school anymore" Anna answered.

Phaidra hadn't promised too much. Really every kid was following the two women, drawing more attention to them than Anna would have liked. No matter where they went everyone was looking at her and not just the children. The other townspeople too. She didn't like being observed like this.

"Well, now Anna has seen everything of our town" Phaidra said to the children. In just one hour they had shown her everything in Iselia. The town was smaller than she had expected. "How about we take a look at the Temple?" the elderly woman asked. Anna nodded.

"Can we come too?" Toby asked.

Phaidra shook her head and said "You know only adults are allowed to go there without their parents."

"That's unfair!" a girl protested.

"No, it's not and now go home" Phaidra said and took Anna by the hand and pulled her with her.

Once they were outside of Iselia the young woman sighed relieved. "I had no idea that the children here could be this…" she started, but she didn't know how the finish the sentence. Phaidra smiled.

"I know. But you handled them quite well. You seem to be good with kids. Ever thought about having one yourself?" Anna couldn't prevent herself from deeply blushing.

Phaidra laughed silently. "I'll take that as a no. But you should consider it. I'm sure you would be a great mother."

"I don't think so. I'm far too impatient for a child."

"I thought so too. And know I have three lovely children."

"Well, even so I have no idea with whom…" Her cheeks turned dark red and she felt how tears threatened to run down her cheeks again.

"With someone you love of course!"

"Yeah, exactly that makes it impossible" Anna mumbled.

Phaidra touched her cheek gently. "Tell me about him."

"About whom?"

"You lost someone and you are sad because of that. I know this feeling. But I also know from experience that talking about this person helps. So tell me about him! I guess you two were a couple, right?"

_Oh please no! _"We were…a couple" Anna shook her head "No, that doesn't sound right. I loved…love him. I really love him and I'm quite sure he feels so too." She didn't want to talk about him in the past tense.

"What do you mean you are quite sure?"

"Well, he…never said it."

"He never said it?" Phaidra raised her eyebrows.

"He isn't the talkative type, but what he did…did for me proved it."

"And what did he do?"

Anna noticed Phaidra's look. After some moments she knew what the woman was implying. "No, not this!" she almost yelled and she felt how she turned red again "He isn't like that!"

"I am sorry. I just thought so, because you…well what you said can be misunderstood. Besides you are very young so I thought you might…"

"I don't mistake "that" for love. I might be young, but I'm not naïve. I have enough life experience to know what love is." Anna turned her away. It was like talking to her mother.

"And to your information…we never did "that"" the young woman added.

"I hear from your tone that you regret that" Phaidra said.

"…I…" she sighed "Yes, I do."

"So you aren't a v…" but Anna cut her off.

"You are awfully nosey, do you know that?"

"I'm sorry!" the elderly woman apologized "But it's nice that you talk so openly. I thought you weren't very talkative."

A moment passed and suddenly Anna burst out laughing. Phaidra looked at her confused.

"S-sorry, but you are the very first person to say that" the young woman answered still giggling "Usually people tell me to finally shut up."

Phaidra smiled at her. "Well, I'm glad to hear a bit more of your voice and your laugh." For a while they walked without talking to each other. Then the Temple came in sight. "Finally! My old bones don't move so well like they used to" Phaidra sighed relieved. "Old? You are barely older than my mother" Anna answered. "You are nice, my dear, but we both know that I'm not the youngest anymore.

"Young enough for me!" someone said suddenly. They watched how a man came down the stairs from the temple. He was tall and looked also sprightly, but his hair was already white. He looked very kind. "But that's because you are five years older, love" Phaidra said laughing and kissed the man. "So you are the young woman I found?" the man said and looked at Anna.

She nodded. "Anna this is Jonathan my husband" Phaidra introduced them.

"Glad to see that you are already up. You must have had a Guardian Angel" Jonathan said and took her hand. _You have no idea…_

"Nice to meet my saviour. Phaidra told me that you were the one I owe my life" Anna said and smiled.

"I wouldn't say that. I just found you and brought you to Iselia."

"Don't be so modest. You saved me!" Anna answered. And out of the blue she hugged him and said "Thank you!"

"Oh…äh…you're welcome!" Jonathan replied surprised. Anna let go of him and made a step backwards. "I wish I could express my gratitude better, but well I don't know how" she added silently.

Phaidra smiled and said "Well, you could thank him by eating more. I have never met someone with such a small appetite."

"I really wasn't hungry anymore!" Anna answered insistent.

Phaidra laughed silently. "Let's go home. I'm sure after such an exhausting day you need some rest. Both of you." They started walking.

"My day wasn't exhausting at all. Not a single tourist or pilgrim" Jonathan said.

"Oh that must have been boring" his wife replied.

"No, not at all. I finally had time to repair some things. But…" he looked at Anna "But for you it must have been exhausting."

She jerked her shoulders. "Not really. I always recover fast."

"You surely do. Considering the poor state you were in when I found you, you look very well."

"Was it really this bad?" Anna wanted to know. Jonathan frowned. He said serious "You were covered in your own blood. It looked quite horrible. I thought you were already dead…" _Yeah, that would have been enough to put pressure on him _"…especially since this monster was about to eat you."

Anna looked at him surprised. "Monster? What Monster?" Jonathan scratched the back of his head.

"Well, I have never seen anything like it. It was huge with big ears. A bit like a dog or wolf, but it was green and white. It looked quite strange. It was standing next to you. If I hadn't scared it off, it would have eaten you."

The eyes of the young woman widened. "It looked like…a big dog?" she asked silently. He nodded a bit confused.

"Yeah, but like I said it was really strange looking." _Noishe! That must have been Noishe! _she thought excited _So he's still here!_

"I didn't want to scare you" Jonathan said misunderstanding Anna's silence. She shook her head.

"No, you didn't scare me. It's just…I don't know a monster that would fit your description."

The rest of the way Anna remained silent and barely listened to Phaidra's and Jonathan's conversation. If Noishe was still here on Sylvarant…could that mean that Kratos was here too?

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><p><strong>Great another cliff-hanger. I think.<strong>

**Thanks for reading and reviews are always welcome!**


	15. The Temple of Martel

And here comes chapter 15!

Honestly I have no idea what's going to happen. I better start writing to find out.

Enjoy!

**I do not own the characters or the locations of Tales of Symphonia.**

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><p>"You are sure that you don't want me to help you? It looks quite heavy" Anna said and watched how Phaidra was carrying a basket full of firewood. "It's not heavy at all. Besides you are still hurt. You shouldn't carry anything" the elderly woman said, but Anna saw that she was breathing heavily. She rolled her eyes and took the basket from her hands. It was heavy, but she would be able to carry it to the house.<p>

"At least let me do something to help you" Anna said and walked to Phaidra's house "I'm not as fragile as I look." Phaidra touched her cheek softly. "But you're not as tough as you pretend to be." The young woman raised her eyebrows. "What's that supposed to mean?" She put the basket next to the front door. "Only that you like everyone to think that you can take care of yourself" Phaidra answered. "And can't I?" Anna answered. The elderly woman smiled. "Of course you can. But just like me you hate it, when someone thinks that he has to help you. Even when you need help."

"I still don't get what that has got to do with my toughness" Anna answered truthfully. "Forget it. I was simply thinking out loud" Phaidra answered. "You think I'm pretty stupid, right?" Anna said and opened the door. "Of course not!" the elderly woman replied. "You are a bad liar, Phaidra" the young woman commented. "I'm not lying!" Phaidra protested. "And you do it again" Anna said and rolled her eyes.

Five days had passed since she had been saved. And in those five days…nothing had happened. There hadn't been the slightest sign of anything! Anna had hoped to at least hear or see something from Noishe, but nothing. But this big fat nothing at least proved that he was really back in Derris Kharlan. She still felt awful but at least she knew what had happened.

"Anna, are you even listening?" Phaidra asked and stopped her thoughts. "S-Sure!" she answered a bit confused. The elderly woman shook her head slightly smiling. "I thought you wanted to visit my husband in the afternoon? You said you wanted to help him." "Yes, I want to help him!" "Then you should leave now or you can accompany him on his way back home" the woman said laughing.

Quickly Anna left the house and started walking to the Temple. After five days she knew the way by heart, but honestly it was hard to get lost on the way. A soft breeze was blowing and even though it wasn't a strong wind Anna was afraid it could lift up her dress. Phaidra had had quite some fun dressing her. Right now she was wearing a beige dress with long sleeves with a dark brown bodice. Anna had to admit that it was a pretty dress, but so inconvenient. She missed her pants.

The Temple was already in sight when Anna heard a noise behind her. She couldn't even move around, before something nailed her to the ground. _Great now a monster is going to kill you!_ she thought and was about to scream, when she felt something wet touching her neck. She turned around. _Whatever this is, it's really heavy!_

Absolutely amazed she looked into Noishe's puppy dog eyes. "This…is…You are…" she stammered. The Protozoan started to lick her face and for the first time Anna didn't mind a bit. She wrapped her arms around his neck.

"NOISHE!" she said blissful "It's you! I thought I would never see you again!" The Protozoan barked happily and his tail was wagging extremely fast. She let go of him to look into his face. "Where have you been? What did you do? What happened?" she asked quickly. Noishe looked at her for a while. Then he started to whine. She patted his forehead and said "Yuan, right?" He nodded.

Suddenly there was a tear running down her cheek, but Anna could prevent herself from bursting into tears. "Noishe, I'm so, so incredibly sorry, that I walked off alone! I can't say how sorry I am. What happened is alone my fault! I'm responsible for it!" Noishe licked the tear off and touched her cheek with his nose. She smiled sadly.

"What about…him? Do you know where Kratos is?" she asked and was prepared for her last hope to be destroyed. Both looked at each other for an endless moment. Noishe looked away and whined loudly. She clenched her fist. "So…Derris Kharlan, right?" she said, but her voice broke off. The Protozoan touched with his nose her forehead. Then he whined silently. Anna knew what he was saying. She held the tears back and caressed his back. "I'm going to miss him dearly…" she whispered, but Noishe heard the pain in her voice. He licked her face again. "Thanks, Noishe! Thank you…" she said and kissed his forehead. Then she buried her face in his fur. Feeling the warmth of his body was comforting. "_I'm going to miss him so, so much!" _she said silently into his fur. Noishe whined again.

She took a deep breath. Then Anna got up again. "I have to go. Someone is waiting for me" she explained. Noishe looked like he wanted to accompany her. "No, Noishe! You can't come with me" he whined "Those people are afraid of you! They think that you are a monster." The Protozoan looked quite disappointed. "Well, you can't come with me and you can't come to the town. So what shall we do? Hm…I got it!" she snapped her fingers. "During the day you stay in the woods. There you can chase some animals and catch something to eat. And in the night we meet at the Temple" she pointed at the building "In the night no one goes there and there usually aren't any monsters. So it's safe for the both of us. Is that alright, Noishe?" He seemed to think about it. Eventually he nodded.

"Great!" she hugged him again. "I gotta go! I have to help someone." She made a step, but then she turned around again and said smiling "I'm glad you're still here with me, Noishe! I really am!" And Noishe looked like he was thinking the same thing.

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><p>Anna brushed some chocolate brown strands out of her face and blushed slightly. "Quit it! He was certainly not!" the young woman said to Jonathan, while they were walking back to Iselia. The man smiled. "Oh he was. This young man couldn't stop looking at you. I'm sure he comes back tomorrow just to see you again" Jonathan answered. "Oh please! You are exaggerating." "No, I'm not. I bet if you aren't at the Temple tomorrow he will ask where you are." Anna raised her eyebrows. "I bet he won't." "Then it's a deal. Tomorrow you stay in the town and we'll see what happens." "Deal!"<p>

Anna stretched her arms. "And even if you should be right, this boy is wasting his time. I'm already taken." Yes, she was taken and not even this distance could change that. She noticed Jonathan's worried look. "I know that he's gone, but that doesn't change the fact that I love him and no one else." He shook his head, but smiled.

"This young man has to be quite special."

"Unique fits better. And he's older than me."

"Really? How much older?"

"Aboutfourthousandandeightyea rs" she mumbled silently.

"What?"

"Not much older" she lied.

"However, even if you're taken that doesn't prevent other men from falling for a young and pretty woman."

"Would you please stop flattering me? It's embarrassing."

"For me or for you?"

"For me!"

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><p>…<p>

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><p>"And how was your day, love?" Jonathan asked Phaidra and kissed her cheek. "A bit boring but not bad. How was yours?" "Nice thanks to my assistant" he looked at Anna. The young woman rolled her eyes, but smiled. "She is very good with people. Especially young man" he winked at her. "You promised me not to tell her" Anna said and sighed. Phaidra laughed. "I should have told you. He's not good at keeping secrets." The elderly woman added smiling "So are there any handsome pilgrims out there?" Anna rolled her eyes. "Hardly" she answered.<p>

"Really or are you just picky?" Phaidra asked. "Seriously are you two trying to get me married? Since three days you are talking about nothing else" the young woman replied. Jonathan shook his head smiling. "No, of course not. At least not intentional." "Good" she answered silently. "But if we would try it with all sincerity we would get you married in less than a month" Phaidra said "I introduced all my children to their partners." She sounded quite proud. "You sound exactly like my mother" Anna answered and rolled her eyes.

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><p>The meeting with Noishe had been short, but very nice. The Protozoan had been more than happy to see her. A mutual feeling. She had told him about Phaidra and Jonathan and that they were taking care of her now. He had seemed to be happy that everything was alright. Noishe had, however, whined quite loudly when she had told that she had had to go back. She had teased him about being afraid of monsters when she wasn't there. He had protested also quite loudly.<p>

Now Anna was sitting at the table bored to death, because she had said that she wouldn't show up at the Temple. And because Phaidra didn't let her do anything with the lame reason that she shouldn't strain herself and the wound.

"If you don't let me do anything, would you allow me to read something?" Anna asked and looked at Phaidra. The elderly woman looked up from her cooking and answered "Of course I would let you if I had any books that you could read. I'm afraid the only ones written in a normal language are the cook books."

"What do you mean?" "Most of my books are written in Angelic Runes. My family is the Chosen's family so of course I have to study this ancient language. But I don't think…" "Perfect!" Anna said and smiled brightly. "What?" the woman looked confused at her. "I can read that. I studied this language myself!" "You can?" Phaidra said amazed. She nodded. "You are full of surprises, Anna" the elderly woman answered smiling "They are in my bedroom. In the bookshelf above the bed."

The rest of the day Anna spent reading books about the Journey of Regeneration. It was a bit weird, since she knew the true meaning of it, but it was certainly better than starring holes into the air. However, after one year without reading a book it was absolutely wonderful to read again, especially since it was written in Angelic Runes. At first she had some problems with the grammar, but later it was really just fun.

She was so focused on reading that she didn't even hear when Jonathan came back. He had to touch her to snap her out of it. "Wha-What?" she said confused. "So interesting?" Phaidra asked and smiled. "Oh Jonathan! You're back!" Anna said and smiled. "You are certainly a fast one" he answered. Phaidra rolled her eyes. "Oh leave her alone."

"Anyway, I wanted to tell you that you lost the bet. To be more precise you lost it double." "Double?" Anna and Phaidra asked confused. "Yes. Two men asked for you." "Two?" Anna said unbelieving. Jonathan nodded. "Well, you are certainly popular. It's a miracle you aren't married yet" Phaidra said smiling and winked at her. Anna simply rolled her eyes. "Well, then I have to admit that you were right, Jonathan. But I don't quite believe you." "I can prove it" the man answered. "How are you going to prove that?" the young woman asked. "I told them that you'll be back tomorrow. Then you will see it yourself." "Great…" Anna said, but her voice really wasn't enthusiastic.

She turned over the page of the book in front of her. She read the headline of the chapter. "_Angels_". She suppressed a sad sigh and closed the book. No, she couldn't read a whole chapter about them without crying.

"Is it okay if I go for a walk like yesterday?" Anna asked the two. "But you haven't eaten anything" Phaidra said. "Are you kidding me? I can still barely move after all the food you shoved into me at lunch" Anna answered. The elderly woman sighed and said "Alright. But be careful. There are still monsters out there." "Don't worry! I can take care of myself" she answered smiling and left the house.

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><p>It was pleasantly warm that evening. Even the strong wind was warm. She stretched her arms and sighed. On her way to the Temple she had to stop her dress from lifting up several times. She groaned a bit frustrated. "Dresses" she mumbled.<p>

Eventually she arrived at the Temple. Like always the sight of the Temple of Martel was impressive. This place had something magical. She shook her head and smiled. _What would Martel say to all this? I don't think she would be very happy _Anna thought while going up the stairs to the Temple. The sun was still above the horizon; however, the sky was already orange and red. "Wonderful weather!" she said sighing.

Noishe wasn't here yet, so she sat down on top of the stairs. The wind played with her hair, making it even messier than it already had been. "Great! Later I can brush it forever" she groaned. The air smelled fresh and a bit salty from the nearby ocean. It reminded her a bit of Luin.

She shrieked when Noishe's cold nose was pressed against her neck. "You love to startle me, don't you?" she asked and rolled her eyes. The Protozoan barked happily. He laid down next to her and put his head on her lap. Anna stroked his head. "And did you chase some animals?" she asked smiling. He nodded. "That must have been fun!" Noishe barked. He seemed to agree.

The young woman laughed silently. "And you weren't afraid of the monsters?" He looked at her, like that had been something ridiculous to say. "Of course you weren't. Someone like you isn't afraid of anything" she replied laughing. The Protozoan nodded.

She smiled. "Know what? I read some books today about the Journey of Regeneration. It's quite weird to read them, when you know the truth." Anna shook her head. "I know what Cruxis did is wrong, but I'm a bit impressed by them." Noishe looked at her surprised. "Don't give me that look! I mean you have to admit that it is impressive that they invented a religion that is so successful even after four thousand years. Wrong but nonetheless impressive." Noishe simply shook his head. "Hey! I think about that stuff, okay? I have much time on my hands!"

The young woman sighed. "Far too much time!" The Protozoan sat up. He whined silently. He had noticed her sad expression. "Do you know how it feels when you have so much time and nothing to do?" He nodded. She sighed again. "I have no idea what I am going to do now! I can't go back or forth. I'm stuck!" He touched her cheek with his nose.

"Luin is not an option. And I don't want to burden Phaidra and Jonathan any longer so staying is also out. Izoold might be…No, I wouldn't make it." Anna groaned. "Why do I even bother? Some Grand Cardinal is going to catch me anyway. I could spare me the trouble and go to the ranch right away." Noishe looked at her shocked. "I am joking! Don't worry! I'm not so desperate. Nothing could make me wish to go back to that hell." She stroked his back.

"But I do have a problem with the Desians. After all I'm a host body on the loose. Not very good for Kvar's image. I bet the other Grand Cardinals are making fun of him for not being able to catch one weak human. The Angelus Project escaped. I hope he has nightmares because of me. That would be only fair" she said bitter.

"We should change the subject" Anna looked at the horizon. The sun was about to completely disappear. The last rays of the sun painted the nearby ocean fiery red. "I should go now. It's getting late." Noishe whined. "Do we have to discuss this again? I won't find back when it's dark." He didn't seem to consider that as a problem. "They will worry about me!" The Protozoan whined disappointed. "We'll meet again tomorrow" she assured him.

She turned around. But before she could go down even one stair, she was on her knees. "Ahh" she hissed silently and touched the Crystal. It was slightly glowing. "You ruin everything. I hope you know that!" the woman whispered bitter. She even felt how the cut on her back, which had mostly closed, opened again partly. She felt warm blood running down her back. "Dammit! Wasn't the thing with Yuan enough for you?" Noishe next to her barked concerned.

"Since I'm already talking about him. If you ever happen to meet him again, bite him for me" Anna said to the Protozoan. At first he was a bit confused, but then he nodded. "Thanks, Noishe!" she answered weakly smiling. The burning vanished slowly. "It's over…" she sighed relieved. The young woman got up again. _The Crystal has a larger appetite than usual and it's getting greedier _she thought worried.

"Good Night, Noishe!" Anna said smiling again and went down the stairs. She was walking faster than usual. She felt uncomfortable and her back was hurting again. "If I should ever see this Seraph again then he is so going to pay" she growled. Halfway to Iselia Anna stopped abrupt.

She looked around. She was pretty sure she had heard something. "You are getting paranoid, Anna" she said to herself. She wanted to start walking again when she suddenly heard a bark behind her. "Noishe?" Anna said surprised and looked at the overly excited Protozoan. He was jumping up and down and couldn't stop moving.

"Is something wrong? What happened?" she asked. With his teeth he grabbed the fabric of the dress and pulled her back to the Temple. She pushed him back. "Noishe, what the hell happened?" the young asked slightly angry. If that was just a try to make her stay longer…He barked again. He sounded extremely excited. Again he pulled her with him. "Oh why can't you speak?" she asked and sighed.

Now he didn't let go of her anymore and pulled her with him with incredible strength. "Noishe! Ouch! Let go! Would you please watch out! This dress is borrowed! I can walk myself! Noishe, let go!" the young woman protested growing more and more annoyed "Noishe! Let go of me! Noishe! I'm not gonna say it again!"

Finally they arrived at the Temple. The Protozoan pulled her up the stairs. She fell several times. "Noishe that hurt! I think my knees are bleeding. Noishe!" The young woman groaned. "What the hell has gotten into you? Noishe? Are you even listening?" Finally they reached the top of the stairs. Noishe let go of her, but didn't stop jumping around. She looked at him confused. "Noishe? Have you gone insane?"

"That is his way to express happiness" a voice said in front of her. "No…" Anna whispered and her eyes widened.

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><p><strong>To be honest it was cruel even for me to stop here.<strong>

**Hope you liked it!**

**Please review!**


	16. Finally

Chapter 16!

I hope you'll like it!

**I do not own the characters or the locations of Tales of Symphonia.**

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><p>"I…don't believe…it" she whispered and starred at the person in front of her. Noishe next to her still couldn't stop moving and was walking back and forth between the two. She could almost feel his excitement. "N-Noishe?" the young woman asked with a trembling voice "I forgive you for dragging me here. No, actually I owe you something. Remind me later of it." Carefully she took a deep breath then she made hesitating a step forward. Then she stopped again.<p>

"Are you al…" but before Kratos could even finish his sentence Anna had kissed him. And because of his surprise both fell on the ground. But not even for a second she let go of him. Not for a single moment she dared to move her lips from his. Well, Anna didn't actually let the Seraph a choice. She had practically nailed him to the ground.

"I'm more than alright! I'm more than fine! I'm…I'm…I'm" the young woman said and her bright smile made it hard for her to speak at all. Instead of wasting time stammering she kissed him again. Deeply and passionate. With her hands she pulled his face closer. A burning feeling spread from her head to her entire body and it felt incredibly good.

Eventually she let go of him. She had to catch her breath. "You have no idea how much I've missed you!" the young woman whispered and looked at the face she loved so much. The face she had thought to have lost forever.

"I think I do know" he answered calm. "Why…why are you here? I thought you were back in Derris Kharlan. What happened with Yuan? How is it possible that…." suddenly Anna's tone changed from excited to guilty. "I'm so sorry!" she said and wrapped her arms around him "I'm so, so sorry! I should have listened to you! Please forgive me!"

She could hear his heartbeat. Such a soothing noise! "Anna, you don't have to be sorry" he answered. The woman looked at him. "But I walked off. Alone!" "You are not responsible for…" she narrowed her eyes and interrupted him. "Wait a second! Is this your lame attempt to say that it was your fault?" she asked. He opened his mouth, but she cut him off. "Oh hell no! I won't let you even try that! It was my fault! My alone! Okay, Yuan played a part in it too, but to 99 percent my fault!"

Anna kissed him again. "And if you should try it again I can shut you up quite easily." She smiled brightly. "What happened? What did you do?" she sat surprised up and looked at him "And what are you wearing?" The Seraph wasn't wearing his white Cruxis-outfit anymore. In the weak light she couldn't see it that well, but it looked like a normal shirt and pants.

"Something less…conspicuous" he answered. She raised her eyebrows. "You look so normal" she smiled "You look quite human. Still I doubt that you fall into the category of not conspicuous. You are a Seraph after all. Which brings us back to the subject of what exactly happened after I passed out."

Even in the dark she could see him frown. "Or is that something you don't want to tell me?" she asked carefully. "It is more something I would like you not to know" he replied and tried to sit up.

"That bad?" He didn't answer.

"But Yuan's plan didn't work?"

"His plans usually fail if they involve forcing me to do something."

"Good" she sighed "I seriously thought you were back in Derris Kharlan."

"Returning there did not cross my mind for a second."

"You really don't like this place, do you?"

"Staying here on Sylvarant is simply far more appealing." The way he said that made her slightly blush. She was hoping he didn't see that in the dark.

"So…" she brushed some hair out of her face "You are not mad at me at all?"

"No."

"You know it would be only fair if you were mad at me now. I really screwed up."

"You didn't."

"I did! I mean I should have liste…" but before she could finish the sentence he kissed her.

"Did…Did you just shut me up with a kiss?" she asked amazed.

"No, I did not."

"Are you sure? It pretty much felt like that." He didn't answer. Anna looked at him. The Seraph looked slightly different.

"Are you sick or something?" she asked him eventually.

"Why do you ask?" he replied.

"You are strangely…not gloomy at all" she replied honestly "That is a bit weird. However, a nice difference."

Now she simply hugged him and whispered "You can't imagine how happy I am that you are still here!"

"I believe I can" he answered. She could only smile.

"Would you let me sit up now?" the Seraph asked.

The young woman leaned forward kissed him again, but she got off him. She stood up and looked at him. And the brightest of smiles spread across her face.

"And what are you going to do now?" Anna asked curiously.

"I should ask you this question" he answered. The young woman sighed, but her smile didn't vanish.

"Well, since you are not in Derris Kharlan" she said while patting Noishe's forehead "I think I'm going to tell the people, who are taking care of me, that I found a chance to get back home and that I'm going to leave."

"Who is taking care of you?" he asked and there was mild concern in his voice.

"A very kind couple, that found me in the woods and…" suddenly Anna's eyes widened "Oh no! I promised to be back before it gets dark. Oh dear! They must be really worried by now. I gotta go!"

She looked at him and sighed. "It's unfair! I finally see you again and then I have to go." She sighed again.

"Are you going to stay here?" the young woman asked.

"I intend to do that" Kratos answered.

"Good. Because if you're not here when I come back, I'll be more than mad at you" Anna said and kissed him. Then she said smiling "Know what? My neck is already aching again."

She made a step then she turned around and asked "And you promise that you will be here tomorrow?"

"I promise" he answered.

"Well then. Good Night!" She made a step, but after a second she turned around and hugged him. Feeling the warmth of his body made her feel so safe and so happy.

"I seriously thought I'd lost you forever" the young woman said and smiled softly "You have no idea how much I've missed you. You have absolutely no idea…"

* * *

><p>…<p>

* * *

><p>"Anna, where have you been?" Phaidra asked after the young woman had opened the door "We were so worried about you!"<p>

"I'm sorry! I guess…Well, I was…Before I knew it, it was already dark" she answered. The elderly woman sighed.

"Thanks to Martel, nothing happened. You should be more careful! There are monsters out there."

"I know. It won't happen again!" Anna promised. She was smiling brightly.

"You seem to be in quite a good mood" Jonathan said and looked at the young woman.

"Really?" Anna brushed some strands out of her face.

"He's right. I have never seen you smiling like that" Phaidra replied. She took a closer look at her.

"Well, it was…a very nice day" the young woman answered.

The man raised his eyebrows. "It was nice, but not wonderful enough to justify your bright smile."

"May I help you with the dishes, Phaidra?" Anna asked trying to change the subject. She couldn't explain them, what caused this happiness, but she didn't want to lie to them either.

"Sure. If you want to" the elderly woman answered.

Anna made a step then Phaidra suddenly said "Oh no! Your back is bleeding!" She tried to look at her back. She had completely forgotten about that. The woman took her by the hand. "Okay, that's it. We go immediately upstairs to treat that and then you'll have to eat something!" Phaidra ordered. Without resisting Anna followed her.

"Seriously!" the blond woman said while putting the gel on the young woman's back "How did that happen?" Anna answered "I don't know. I wouldn't have realized it if you hadn't pointed it out." The woman sighed. "You should be more careful. You might be young, but not immortal." "I promise I'll be more careful in the future" she replied.

"Good. But at least regarding that cut you don't have to worry anymore" the elderly woman said "After this treatment it won't open again."

Anna raised her eyebrows surprised. "Why are you so sure of that?"

"Because I used lemon gel."

"You did what?" Anna asked shocked "Phaidra, you shouldn't spend so much money just to treat my injury. It would have healed on its own."

"Don't worry, my dear. It didn't cost as much as you think. I have good relationships with the storekeeper, besides you needed it."

"But…"

"No but! I did it gladly. End of story."

Anna sighed. This woman was too kind for her own good. After some moments Phaidra asked hesitating "May I ask…ask you how…you got all those…those scars?" For a second Anna's eyes widened. She really hadn't expected that kind of question. Phaidra blushed slightly and went to the door. "I'm sorry I asked. It's clearly something I don't have to know."

Just when she was about to leave the room the elderly woman heard Anna saying "I got them from the Desians." Phaidra turned around. She looked at the young woman. She was still smiling, but her eyes had a sad expression. Anna continued. "I was…in a Human ranch. I was…I was a prisoner there. It took me a year to escape and that was enough time for them to…well, to give me those scars."

"You escaped from a ranch?" Phaidra asked shocked.

"Yes, I did. But don't ask me how I did it. I don't know it myself."

"Why did you tell me?"

"Because…I owe you that. You have treated me so kindly that I thought that I at least owe you the truth."

Both women were silent for a moment. Then Anna said "Please, don't tell anyone! If it would get out that…someone like me is here, the Desians would surely…. I don't want to endanger you and this town." The elderly woman sat down next to her and said softly "I promise I won't tell anyone. And I thank you for telling me. I really appreciate it." She touched Anna's cheek. "Like I said earlier. You are full of surprises."

The young woman smiled. "Thanks for the compliment!" she hesitated for a moment "Ähm…Phaidra? I intend to leave very soon."

"Why?" The elderly woman looked quite surprised and even a bit sad.

"I was away from home for quite a long time and well, someday I'll have to go home."

"But how are you going to get home?"

"I'll join a group of pilgrims. That's the safest way. Besides I was long enough a burden for you."

"You aren't a burden, Anna" Phaidra said smiling "You are a blessing. I would like you to stay longer, but I'm very sure you won't change your mind."

"Thanks for understanding that" Anna answered.

"But you can't leave before the day after tomorrow" the elderly woman replied.

"Why can't I…"

"Have you already forgotten? Two men are desperately waiting for you at the Temple" the woman winked at her "You can't disappoint them."

Anna sighed but giggled after a second. "Alright. Alright. I won't disappoint them."

* * *

><p>…<p>

* * *

><p>The young woman had barely slept during the night and because of that she was more hyper active than usually. However, her awful good mood was still there so the whole morning she was smiling. Anna couldn't suppress it and honestly she didn't really try. Why should she hide her happiness?<p>

"Are you okay, Anna?" Phaidra asked.

"Why do you ask?"

"I'm only worried about you. Smiling for so long must be painful."

The young woman laughed. "Don't worry! I assure you everything is okay. No, that's not true. Everything perfect!"

Phaidra looked at her a bit skeptical. "Why is everything perfect?"

"Another day in a beautiful world! What can't be perfect?" Anna meant that. Everything was absolutely wonderful!

The elderly woman smiled and answered "Well, I can't disagree with you on that. It is a beautiful day."

"I'm going to the Temple now" Anna said and was already halfway through the door.

"I want to now everything when you come back" Phaidra answered.

Today the way to the Temple seemed to be longer than normal. It felt like eternity till she finally reached the building. At the foot of the stairs she stopped. It was silly, but Anna was a bit…nervous. "Seriously! You managed to escape from a Human ranch, but you are afraid to go up some stairs" she said to herself. Eventually she went up the stairs.

Like always some tourists and pilgrims had gathered. Actually a bit more than usual. While trying to find Jonathan Anna had to admit angry that she was a bit small. She had a hard time looking for Jonathan, because most of the people were blocking her view. After a while she came to the conclusion that he had to be in the Temple.

The young woman entered the building. She was wondering if she should turn left or right when a familiar silhouette caught her attention. She walked to it.

"Hey, stranger!" Anna said smiling and looked at the Seraph. He was standing in front of the entrance to the altar room. "I thought you would come later" he answered and looked at her.

"Well, I couldn't wait any longer. To be honest I barely slept" the young woman replied smiling "I was too exited."

"Exited?" Kratos asked a bit surprised.

"Who wouldn't be exited about meeting your love again? Especially after believing that he returned to Derris Kharlan" she answered honestly.

"It was only a single night."

"Oh. So I was the only one who was exited…" For a second she looked slightly disappointed.

"I didn't mean it like that" the Seraph said. Anna rolled her eyes. She looked at the door in front of them.

"Mind telling me why you are waiting here and not outside?" the young woman asked.

He closed his eyes for a moment and then he answered "This place is directly connected to Cruxis. I was…simply drawn to it." He didn't seem to be very happy about this fact.

"Hm…" she gave him a soft smile "Old habits die hard I guess. But I wanted to ask you something. Is tomorrow…" The woman couldn't finish her sentence.

"Anna! There you are! I've been looking for you" Jonathan said. He looked quite surprised to see her in the company of a man. Alone with no one else around.

"Oh…right. I'm…I'm coming" she looked at Kratos "Sorry, I have to go." Anna walked quickly to Jonathan, not without looking at the Seraph one more time. Outside the Temple the elderly man said "Did I interrupt something in there?"

"Why do you ask?" Her cheeks started to burn a little.

"Oh, just because it seemed that you and this man would get along…very well."

"And? I just…showed him around. That's all."

"You know that's one of the men that asked for you yesterday" Jonathan said smiling. Anna's eye widened surprised.

"He did what?" she asked.

"Well, he came here yesterday asking for a young woman. He described you and I told him that you weren't here. Then I said to him that you would come here today" he scratched the back of his head "I must admit I was a bit intimidated by him." Anna giggled. Yes, that had been definitely him.

"What did he say? How did he describe me?" she asked and felt like a teenager again because of that.

"I can't remember exactly, but I think you would have liked it." The man smiled.

"Really? Can't you remember any details, Jonathan?" Anna wanted know. She had to know what he had said. The Seraph would never ever tell her.

"You have to give me some time. My memory isn't what it used to be" he thought for some moments. Finally he answered "I think he said beautiful, but I'm not quite sure." Anna cheeks turned to a dark shade of red.

"Seriously? You didn't make that up?" she asked.

"Why should I?"

"Okay, I believe you this time" she answered. He had said _beautiful._ He had described as beautiful. She felt how a feeling spread from her heart that felt a bit unfamiliar but not exactly uncomfortable.

"You should see your face right now" Jonathan said while looking at her.

She looked confused at him. "Why? What's wrong with my face?"

Jonathan smiled and answered "You look just like my daughters when they had a crush on someone."

"I…I don't have a crush on him!" she protested blushing "I barely know him!"

"Sometimes you only need a moment" the man answered and started to collect the donations some of the pilgrims had left "Never heard of love at first sight?"

"I'm not the kind of person for that" Anna said and helped him. If he would only know that she had needed a bit more than a month to fall in love with the Seraph.

"So you don't care at all that he's looking at you for now about five minutes?" Jonathan asked smiling.

"What?" Anna said and barely managed to resist the urge to turn around. _Don't look! Don't look! Stay calm! Just don't turn around and look! _"You're making that up, Jonathan. He's certainly not looking at me."

"Well, turn around and see for yourself" the man said.

"I will definitely not turn around!" Anna answered determined.

But eventually she said hesitating "Jonathan…I think…this man is a bit…lost without me. Do you mind if I…show him the rest of the Temple? I mean only if you're not too busy." _Very subtle, Anna. Very subtle._ The elderly man laughed.

"Go, Anna. Don't let me hold you back" he said smiling. In the moment where she was about to turn around, he added "But I doubt that he's really interested in the Temple though." Anna rolled her eyes and sighed "Seriously…"

* * *

><p>…<p>

* * *

><p>"He did WHAT?" the young woman asked the Seraph quite shocked. They weren't in the Temple anymore. The two were outside near the ocean and somehow they had managed to get there without Jonathan noticing.<p>

She started pacing forth and back, looking extremely worried even for her standards. What Kratos had told her, had…concerned her to say the least.

"Anna, please calm down" he said to the woman, who was obviously close to freaking out. She looked at him for some moments.

"I can't calm down, when you tell me something like that" she answered and walked even faster. _Oh dear. Oh dear. Oh dear. I'm. So. Doomed! _Eventually she stopped and looked at the ocean.

"Dammit! This is bad! This is really, really bad" the young woman said "I can't believe Yuan told Yggdrasill that you left Cruxis…because of me!" Only saying it made her shiver. This report had made her a direct target of Cruxis. Before that it had been more like that she should be killed if she gets in the way. But now…Anna was really in trouble. In very deep trouble.

"What was he thinking? Why did he do that?" she asked.

"Most likely he wanted the permission to take more aggressive measures to handle the escalated situation" the Seraph explained calm.

"Escalated situation?" she asked confused "When did the situation escalate?"

"When even Mithos couldn't deny the fact anymore that I betrayed him. But alone me being here on Sylvarant counts for Cruxis as an escalated situation."

"And do you think that Yuan will get the permission to take more…aggressive measures?"

He hesitated for a moment.

"Yes, I think he will" the Seraph said eventually.

Anna's eyes widened for a second when the fear hit her. She didn't want to think about what "aggressive" meant for Cruxis, but she was absolutely sure that she didn't want to find out. However, if letting her bleed to death wasn't aggressive for them…then things were about to get much worse.

"He got the permission only because he told Yggdrasill that you left Cruxis for a human?" she asked, but her voice was quieter than before.

"Mithos is a half-elf. Opposing him for a human…is for him the ultimate betrayal."

The young woman shook her head slightly. "But…why does he believe Yuan? I mean you came down here on Sylvarant on your own. You came here, because you don't want "An Age of lifeless Beings". I…got involved after that. I'm… I'm not the reason."

She looked at him slightly desperate for an answer. The Seraph remained silent for some moments.

"Anna" Kratos said calm "You are the reason." The woman's eyes widened and she looked at him shocked. _What? Did he just…really say…that?_

"You…I…Yuan's right?" she asked barely able to speak.

"He is" he simply answered.

"But you…" she said, but wasn't able to finish the sentence.

"I came down here on Sylvarant, because I disagreed with Mithos. You are right about that. I wasn't sure, however, if I could really leave everything from Cruxis behind. After meeting you…I am."

It took Anna more than just some moments to digest that. She looked at him for minutes unable to say anything. She looked at the man who was willing to give up his former life and who was willing to get himself in the worst kind of danger just…for her.

Suddenly she hugged him. She held him as tight as she could. Then the young woman said "Promise me something! Promise me that whatever happens, you don't leave me alone here on this world. I'm scared. I'm really quite scared right now. So you have to promise me that you don't leave. I'm in this mess and even if I wanted to I know I can't get out. I don't WANT to get out! I'll never want that, because I love you too much. But you have to promise me that you don't leave, because this mess is far too big for me to handle it by myself."

"You don't have to be worried. Nothing will happen to you" he assured her.

"Just promise me, Kratos!" she demanded "And don't tell me not to be worried. I'm the one who says that to you!"

"Alright, I promise you."

"Finally…" She sighed heavily. _Great! Even more problems are approaching. Just because this stupid Seraph couldn't keep his mouth shut! _

"Hate to tell you this, but your friend, Yuan, I really don't like him. He's a jerk."

"I never expected you to like him. Especially not after what he did…to you." The Seraph obviously didn't like to remember that occasion.

She rose on eyebrow. "You think just because of that I'm mad at him? Are you serious? From the beginning he referred to me as "The Angelus Project", "Cruxis Crystal" and even "this". And while he was watching me bleeding to death, despite knowing my name, he called me "woman". I might be a bit touchy about that subject, but that's more than enough for me to really not like him."

"…"

"The only thing good about him is that he's quite talkative" Anna added and thought about her conversation with the half-elf "Come to think of it compared to you he's a chatterbox. Although…compared to you everyone's a chatterbox."

Again silence.

"Still I'm not keen on meeting him again anytime soon. He's a bit…creepy.

"I am sure he will need some time until he has fully recovered."

Anna looked at him confused. "Recovered? What do you mean…?" she asked, but then her eyes widened.

"You…fought him? You guys fought? And you never thought of mentioning that to me?" The young woman looked slightly angry and a bit…worried.

"It was not a very significant battle" he answered, but that didn't really calm her down.

"Are you kidding me? How could it be not significant if two Seraphim are fighting against each other?" she asked and the anger couldn't be overheard.

"He was unprepared. The fight didn't last very long."

"Were you injured? Are you alright?" Anna asked and looked at him. Her anger had turned into concern.

He shook his head. "I am unhurt. Like I said the battle didn't last very long."

"Are you sure? You are not just saying that to calm me down?"

"I'm telling you the truth" the Seraph replied calm.

"Okay…" she kissed his cheek softly "Just next time something like that happens, tell me. I hate it when I don't know that kind of stuff."

"I will."

"Kratos" she said smiling and shook her head slightly "You're the worst liar I've ever met."

* * *

><p><strong>Finally they are together again!<strong>

**If anyone has noticed it, yes, I let them meet at Temple just like Lloyd met Kratos. I just couldn't resist.**

**Thanks for reading!**

**Please review!**


	17. Day of Departure

And here comes Chapter 17.

Erm…well, sorry it took me so long. And to be honest it would have taken me even longer to post this if not for this comment by Megusta(Guest) "Y U NO UPDATE THIIISSSS? :[" It scared me a little…

Anyway…

You know I've just realized that Anna and Kratos are traveling together for only a bit more than three months now. I needed 17 chapters for that. Oh dear…I need a time skip. But not just yet. I have plans for the next two to three chapters. I'm really looking forward to it. To be honest I've waited quite long to get to this certain point in the story.

But since you have no idea what I'm talking about I'll just get on with the story.

**I do not own the characters or the locations of Tales of Symphonia.**

* * *

><p>The hug was long and firm. Anna actually had problems breathing properly. But she remained silent, till Phaidra ended the embrace herself. "And you are sure that you want to go? You could stay with us for some more days… or weeks. We don't mind" the elderly woman said. Anna smiled but shook her head. "No, I have to go. But thanks for the offer. I really appreciate it" she answered. Phaidra looked at her for some moments. She seemed to be quite worried.<p>

"You don't need anything else? I could surely…"

"No! You gave me more than enough, Phaidra. Actually you gave me too much. I can't say how grateful I am. I can never ever repay you for that." Yes, she had given Anna far too much. Not just a place to stay and treatment, but also a bag full of things (mostly clothes with the explanation, that a pretty woman like her should have some things to wear). She had even found money in it and her attempts to return it had been useless. Phaidra had simply ignored her. She was too kind for her own good.

The blond woman replied softly "You don't have to repay me. Just promise me that you'll be careful. Don't get yourself killed and stay away from the Desians and from monsters and…."

"I got it, Phaidra! I'll be careful. Don't worry!" Anna said and smiled.

"Oh!" the woman hugged her again "I'm going to miss you! It was wonderful to have you here! Even if it was only for a short time."

"Thanks for everything! I'll never forget that!"

"If you ever happen to be near Iselia again, please visit us! I would love to introduce you to my children someday."

"Yeah! I would like to meet them too. I promise you to visit you if I get the chance."

Phaidra didn't let go of her. "Ahm…you're crushing my ribs."

"Sorry!" the woman apologized and let Anna go.

"It's a pity Jonathan can't be here!" Phaidra said and sighed. Her husband had his hands full with dealing with the tourists and pilgrims. He hadn't had the time to stay longer to say goodbye to her.

"I said goodbye to him in the morning." It had been a rather moving event to say farewell to her savior.

"Still…"

Anna smiled at the elderly woman. "I'll leave now. Again thank you for everything you did!"

Phaidra smiled back at her. "Goodbye and may Martel guide you!"

"Goodbye!" the young woman said. She hesitated for a split second, before she said kindly "And I'm sure your cousin will make it! She'll bring us salvation, you'll see." Then she turned around, waved Phaidra goodbye and went away. _I'll definitely come back here! Someday…_

For about five minutes she was walking through the forest all by herself. It was a warm summer day and the birds were chirping. She felt like the only being in the entire world. A feeling she enjoyed for a while. However, it made her nervous after some time. But eventually she heard a noise behind her and she hit the ground only seconds later. "Ouch!" she complained and tried to get up.

The woman sighed a bit annoyed, when she looked at Noishe. "Seriously you don't have to do that every time we meet again. Just startling me in a normal way would be more than enough" she said to the Protozoa. He licked her face gently. Now the young woman hugged him and said smiling "But it's still nice to see you!" His tail started to wag. She could almost feel his excitement.

"So" Anna got up again "I suppose that my angelic companion is nearby, right?" The Protozoa nodded. Before she could even turn around, the mentioned companion said "Noishe ran off without me. He couldn't wait any longer." Noishe nodded energetic. She turned around and answered smiling brightly "Really? I can't imagine how that must feel."

The young woman looked at him for a moment and then she couldn't suppress it any longer and did the same thing Noishe had done only moments ago. Well, except for the knocking down part.

She sighed happily. "By the way I wouldn't mind if you would behave a bit like Noishe" she kissed his cheek softly "But I guess I shouldn't complain. After all I missed your gloomy behavior the most."

"I do remember that you are always criticizing my gloomy behavior" he answered calm.

"Know what, Kratos? The things about you that drive me crazy sometimes are secretly the things I love most about you. But most of the time they just drive me insane" the young woman explained smiling. Surprised she made a step backwards and looked at him.

"Hey! You look normal again!" she said referring to his clothes. The Seraph wore his Cruxis outfit again.

"Normal?" he asked slightly surprised.

"Yeah, normal. I mean I'm used to these clothes" she replied lightly "Besides they suit you." _And make you look even more handsome than you already are _the woman completed in her thoughts and blushed slightly.

She noticed his…almost amused expression.

"What?" she asked curious.

"Nothing important" he answered. That answer just made her even more curious.

"Come on! Tell me!"

"It was nothing" the Seraph replied "We should go now."

The woman sighed. "Changing the subject like that is mean! But…" she brushed some hair out of her face "like always you are right."

They started walking, closely followed by a happy Noishe. "So where are we going?" she asked, barely able to hide her excitement.

"To a House of Salvation" he replied.

"Why?"

"There is no special reason."

She narrowed her eyes. "Seriously? No reason at all?" the young woman asked skeptical "Since when do you do something without a good reason?"

"Haven't I done that before in the past?"

"No…actually not. You are the kind of person that needs a reason for everything" she answered "For example your nonexistent sleeping habits. You don't see a reason in sleeping so you don't do it. And that's pretty much how you deal with everything else."

Her jaw dropped, in the moment she saw him…smiling. On a normal person it wouldn't have been a big deal, but on him it was, even if it was barely more than the hint of a smile.

"What…what are you…sm-smiling about?" she asked a bit surprised and slightly confused.

"It's nothing."

"Nothing? Whatever it is it's enough to make you smile. That's not nothing! That's a miracle!" the young woman answered.

"Your definition of a miracle is surely strange."

"Excuse me! You are a four thousand year old Seraph. You're a walking miracle" Anna replied, still a bit confused by his smile. He looked so…different with it and this difference made it a bit hard for her to really concentrate on the conversation.

"I'm not more of a miracle than any other human."

"If you only knew how wrong you are…" she answered and rolled her eyes. Anna knew that her companion was unable to accept any kind of compliment. No, actually it was more like he didn't believe that there was anything good about him. A fact that made him even more amazing in Anna's eyes, but that was something she kept to herself.

"Hey, stop that!" the young woman said suddenly "Stop switching the subject!"

"If I remember correctly you were the one who changed the subject."

"Very funny. I wanna know why you smiled…or rather why you are smiling!" she demanded.

"I have no special reason" he answered.

"Kratos! Stop using that kind of answer! You know that that's not an answer at all!"

"It is" was his calm response.

The woman groaned frustrated. "Okay! Fine! ...I'll give in. This time you win…" she admitted sighing and she really wasn't happy about that.

Eventually she said to Noishe "Something's wrong with him. Usually our conversation don't end…" she looked at the Seraph "…like this." The Protozoa simply barked, sounding quite happy.

The woman sighed, but it sounded content. "So back to the original topic. Why are we going to a House of salvation? It seems to me a bit odd, since you kind of avoided them in the past" she asked the Seraph.

"Because the routes pilgrims take are usually safer and Cruxis would never try to…attack on a road like this. They are not fond of attracting attention." It wasn't hard for her to hear his concern. Well, he wasn't really trying to hide it.

"Knew you had a reason" Anna said slightly proud. But after some moments she decided to pick up a more serious subject.

"Let's assume that Cruxis…doesn't act like you think. What…could happen?" the woman asked carefully.

At first he didn't seem like he would answer her question, but then he said "If that would happen, I had to face…some angels."

"Angels?" She hadn't expected that. The angels of Cruxis were for her nothing more than pitiable creatures, doomed to live forever without a soul or a single thought.

He nodded.

"How…dangerous are they?" she managed to ask.

"They are more powerful than Desians, but not much of a threat" he answered.

"You say that to everyone that is trying to kill you, Kratos" the woman replied and rolled her eyes "Doesn't really make it easier not to be worried about you."

"You don't have to be concerned about me, Anna" he said calm, but he tried to sound convincing.

"I'm trying to believe that myself, but it isn't really working. I'm always worried about you and considering the fact that Cruxis is pursuing us, I think my concerns are justified." _Couldn't think of a better reason…_

"And you are only worried about my wellbeing?" he asked.

"Well, mostly. I mean I can't say that I'm not worried about Noishe, but you are always putting yourself in danger. Remember Izoold? I nearly died because of worrying about you" the woman answered and noticed Noishe's expression. She had gotten on his nerves quite a bit.

"You did?" he asked and tilted his head almost curious.

"Yeah, I did" the young woman admitted silently "I mean you were gone for such a long time…" she mumbled the last words slightly embarrassed "But it was nothing compared to some days ago. Believing you were gone was like…hell." She blushed slightly, when she noticed that his look was resting on her.

"You don't need to be concerned about me" he assured her eventually.

"Well, I do no matter what you say" she glanced aside and mumbled quite silently "Especially since I'm not worth the trouble."

"You are mistaken, Anna. You are" the Seraph answered calm. The young woman flinched and her cheeks turned crimson red.

"How did you…" she asked, but fell silent again. She groaned and said annoyed "Right. Angel-senses. Forgot about them." The red color vanished only slowly from her face.

"What I was trying to say…" she started again "was that I have every reason to worry about you. After all you put yourself in danger. And the fact that Cruxis is going to send some angels to take you back isn't really a comforting thought."

"I assure you, those angels don't pose a threat" the man said and the way he did that, made her believe him…for a second.

"We can discuss this all day, but it we'll never agree" the young woman replied and sighed. It was no use. He would never be able to convince her that she didn't have to worry. How couldn't she worry? The organization that was ruling both worlds was trying to hunt them down with angels! _Angels…_she pondered.

"Kratos? How do angels look like?" Anna asked all of a sudden and her look was a strange mixture of seriousness and curiosity.

"What?" her companion replied slightly surprised and Noishe looked amazed too. He whined a bit confused.

She bit her lip and answered "Well…I don't really know how they look. I never thought about it, because I had no reason to. But now…I mean I doubt that the pictures of angels I've seen so far are…accurate. The only real angels I've seen are you and Yuan. And you two don't really…are recognizable as angels."

Silence spread between, like always when Anna had picked up a topic that was directly connected to Cruxis' crimes. She knew that the chances of getting an answer were quite slim and usually the woman tried to avoid those kinds of question, but she just had to know. To her surprise the Seraph answered only some moments later.

"The images the Church of Martel uses are actually not far away from the truth. They look like normal half-elves with wings. But they are a completely different species."

She looked at him with wide open eyes. He rose on eyebrow a bit confused.

"Why are you looking at me like this?"

"They have…They have wings?" she managed to say obviously quite surprised.

"Yes, they have. Why does that surprise you?" the Seraph answered.

"Out of all the things the Church says about angels, I thought the…wings are the most unrealistic part. Wings…"she said still a bit confused "You mean with feathers and stuff?"

He nodded.

"All of them?"

He nodded again.

The woman looked at him for a while longer. Then she said "Seriously…wings! Who would have expected that?" A second later a new question came into her mind. But even though she had opened her mouth already to ask, she managed to stop herself. Anna knew that that question could get her into trouble or at least it would cause the most awkward and uncomfortable silence.

Since she had decided to not say anything else, silence spread between them anyway, but it wasn't really uncomfortable. It was a stillness that didn't need to be filled. However, usually Anna would have broken it nonetheless, because she hated silence more than anything else (or rather she hated how boring it was), but right now she didn't care. She was busy wondering about that question.

_Does…he have wings too? I mean he's a Seraph and that is basically just a very powerful angel. But Kratos and…wings? Come on! That just can't be true…On the other hand wouldn't it be weird if an especially powerful angel hadn't wings? But just look at him! He doesn't have wings! If he had, it would be pretty obvious. Although…he's a special kind of angel, so it would be only logical if he had special kind of wings. Doesn't the Chosen One become an angel too? And have you ever heard of a Chosen with wings? She only becomes a vessel, tough, so it's not the same. But Spiritua is always portrayed as a winged angel._

_Oh if I would only have the courage to ask him. Although…he probably wouldn't answer me anyway and to be honest, the question alone sounds quite ridiculous. "Do you have wings?" Yep, sounds pretty stupid to me. But…_

"Kratos? I'm going to ask you something now and you have to promise me to answer it honestly" she said after five more minutes. She regretted her words before she had even ended the sentence, but her curiosity had been too strong. Like always. _I should work on that._

"I usually answer your questions honestly, but I promise" he responded calm. Anna had the feeling that he already knew, what she was about to ask, but she wasn't really sure. And right now she was too busy figuring out how to ask him, to care.

"Okay…ahm…so…I'd…" she mumbled and looked at the ground. _Spit it out!_

"So..ahm I wondered…if…well, if you have wings…" the young woman asked growing quieter with every word and blushing.

The response didn't come right away. Just like she had expected. The question was just too weird. After a minute she hoped that he hadn't heard her, but she doubted it. And then…

"I have" he answered sounding just as calm as always.

* * *

><p><strong>Well, I was really looking forward to this particular scene.<strong>

**Next chapter is going to be fun!**

**Thanks for reading (and waiting) and please review!**


	18. Salvation

Oh my god! Is that an…update as in "new chapter" update?

Yes, it is. Can you believe it?

I'm really, really, really sorry for taking so much time to update. I hope you can forgive me.

And in case such a long break happens again (which is not unlikely) I want to clarify that I will _**NEVER EVER**_ abandon this story! I promise you that!

So and to make up for the delay this chapter is long. Really long. And the content isn't bad either. But I don't want to spoil anything.

Enjoy! (and if you don't let me know why. Perhaps I can fix it.)

**I do not own the characters or the locations of Tales of Symphonia.**

* * *

><p>"Oh yeah? Well, I think it's very much the same!" Anna answered growing more and more frustrated. She sat on the ground, her hands crossed in front of her chest. Her face was lightened by flickering fire of the fireplace emphasizing how angry she was. Her companion's resistance had cost her a lot of nerves during the day and now in the late evening she was about to lose her temper. But what had really triggered her anger, was a comparison she found absolutely unfair. Insulting even.<p>

"It is not" Kratos answered. While she was raising her voice more and more, he was staying calm.

"It so is!" the woman replied. Unable to remain still, she stood up and started walking back and forth.

"By human standards it might is…" but she didn't let him finish the sentence.

"And what's wrong about that?" she asked angrily and her tone gave away that he had said something terribly wrong. Noishe, who sat a bit further away, whined silently.

"How else am I supposed to measure it? Hm? I AM human! Dammit! You're also human! What else am I supposed to do but to treat you human?" Anna said, close to bursting "Every single time I only mention something that might not be that human about you, you grow silent or you change the subject. And now using human standards is wrong?" Deep, deep down inside of her a part knew that she was overreacting, but that part was too weak to calm her down.

"No, I did not say that. But what I'm trying to explain is that I am not doing this out of human reasons" the Seraph answered still serene. _How the hell is he staying so calm?_

"Then why are you hiding them?" she asked and her voice was noticeably friendlier.

"There is more than one reason…"

"Pity we don't have all night long to list them" she said sarcastically. She wouldn't let him get away without an answer.

"They….attract too much attention" the man said. She rolled her eyes.

"Well, obviously" the woman added.

"But the more important reason is that the Mana, which would be released if I'd show them, allows Cruxis to find me."

Anna jaw dropped. That was an answer she hadn't expected.

"H-How?" she asked and her voice was silent.

"My Mana-Signature. They could track me down by letting the Mana guide them" Kratos explained. He seemed to be quite relieved that Anna had decided to calm down.

"Oh…I suppose that is a good reason to hide them" she said, feeling already guilty for her outburst. "Wait a second!" she said and sat down next to him "If that's true and your wings or rather their Mana really give away your position, how did Cruxis find you before, even though you haven't shown them?"

He leaned a bit backwards and his look wandered from her face to the sky. Silence spread between them. But after some moments he broke it.

"I can't completely suppress my Mana-Signature. No one can. I simply keep my Mana-Level as low as I can. Cruxis is still sometimes able to locate me" he answered.

Anna wrapped her arms around her knees and mumbled "…Sorry, I didn't want to be so…well loud. I was simply angry that you….." But the young woman didn't find the right words.

"Didn't do what you wanted me to?" he suggested.

"No! Not that" she replied and shook her head "What you said earlier made me angry. Quite angry."

"What do you mean?"

"I said that you saw the…scars on my back and that showing me your wings would be the same. And you said that it weren't the same" she explained and while looking at the fireplace. Within the range of its light she could she the high grass, which was surrounding them. Noishe looked at her carefully, trying to find out if she had really calmed down.

"And that made you angry?" the Seraph asked and raised an eyebrow.

She blew a strand out of her face. "Well, actually it insulted me. You said it like those scars would mean less than your wings and…"

"I didn't say that" he interrupted her calmly.

"I know, Kratos" she gave him a small smile "But it sounded like you would. That just…You just hit a sore spot. That's all. But you know me I get angry very easily." She sighed silently. "I'm sorry. You have every right to have your secrets and I have no right to demand that you show them to me" the young woman added apologetic.

Then she stretched her arms and let herself sink into the grass. It was surprisingly soft and it smelled fresh. It was getting warmer and Anna was sure that the summer would start pretty soon. The trees had turned to a darker shade of green just like the grass.

"Still mad at me?" she asked after about ten minutes and turned her head to him. Like always his face bared no sign of any emotion let alone anger, but she didn't trust this calm mask. She never did.

"I never was" the man answered simply.

The woman raised an eyebrow. "Not even a little?" she asked surprised.

"Why should I?" he responded.

"I yelled at you!" she said and sat up "Unjustified."

"You yell at me frequently. Getting angry at you every time, would be a waste of energy."

"I don't yell that often!" the woman answered and she sounded a little bit angry again.

"Oh…my g…I do yell at you that often!" Anna said after some moments and the realization was visible in her eyes. "I'm….I'm sorry! I'm a terrible person…"

"You are not" he assured her.

"Seriously how don't you get insane with me around?"

"You make it sound like that was an accomplishment."

"I know myself that I can be annoying and I should work on that, but I don't understand how you can simply stay calm without showing the slightest sign of anger, even though I yell at you!"

He looked at her and said "Anna, your presence is too pleasurable for me to be annoyed or angry about such small things."

First her eyes widened. Then her cheeks turned to a dark shade of red. Trying to hide the fact how embarrassed she was, Anna said "Small things…If those are small things to you, what on earth counts as big for you? Me trying to kill you?"

"You threatened to do that on several occasions" he simply replied.

"Well….I…was…You just" she stuttered. Then she groaned annoyed "You just drive me insane from time to time and not in a good way."

"How can driving you insane be good?" the Seraph asked and looked at her. "I…ah…" but she fell silent. The young woman of course knew how driving someone insane could be done in a good way, but there was no way in hell she would say it out loud. Now. In front of HIM.

He noticed her somewhat strange look and asked "Is everything alright, Anna?"

"Yeahsure!" she answered slightly too fast.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, Kratos. I am!"

"You haven't answered my question from bef…"

"Hey, ahm…I was just thinking if you can't show your wings to me, could you please tell me how they look?" she asked trying the change the subject. She noticed the tiny hint of surprise in his eyes due to the sudden question.

"Do you really want to know how they look so badly?" the Seraph asked and then she knew that it had worked.

"Honestly? You tell me that you have wings and I'm not supposed to be extremely curious after that? You don't know me very well" the woman answered and rolled her eyes smiling "It's not like you meet someone everyday, who has wings."

He tilted his head slightly curious. Something he always did when he didn't quite understand how she could handle all the Cruxis stuff so easily.

"So? Will you tell me?" she asked again and leaned forward.

"If you insist…" the man responded.

"Oh I do!" she assured him.

…

…

…

Anna tilted her head and narrowed her eyes a bit skeptical. After she had spent five whole minutes with looking at Kratos, she said "I just can't imagine you with wings. It's simply impossible! I mean…" she came a bit closer "it's not like I wouldn't believe you but…"

She fell silent for some moments searching for the right words. "Blue wings! You and blue wings. For me there's simply no way those two things fit together."

"You can't imagine me with wings but that I am four thousand years old?" he asked a bit surprised.

"Well, yes" she jerked her shoulders "It's just you…you are so normal for me. It never crossed my mind that something apart from your age is not human. You might be a Seraph, but I don't see you as one. The fact that you're different from me, doesn't want to go into my head."

He looked at her for about three minutes.

"What?" the young woman asked.

"I have the feeling, that I will never be able to understand how you see things" he answered.

"Really? I don't think that I'm that complicated" she said. Then she yawned.

She sighed annoyed "I guess I'm already tired. Sometimes I envy that you don't get tired." She smiled at him. Then Anna leaned forward and kissed him very softly.

"On the other hand if I didn't sleep, I wouldn't get a Good-Night-Kiss" the woman sighed content "Again sorry that I yelled at you." Suddenly her look got a bit more serious. She hesitated for a moment, before she asked her question.

"Ahm…If we ever get a chance, will you show me your wings then? I would really, really like see them someday."

"If there's ever a chance…" he said after an eternity.

"Is that a yes?" she asked excited.

He just nodded. She had a beaming smile on her face, when she hugged him.

"Good Night!" the woman said and perhaps she might even saw a hint of a smile on his lips, when she turned around.

...

Restless Anna turned around for the millionth time and desperately tried to fall asleep. Noishe next to her was silently snoring (a sound she found quite adorable) and from time to time he barked softly. He was probably dreaming something.

_Brain, could you possibly be so kind to stop thinking and let me sleep? _she thought and turned around again. She moved closer to Noishe. Then she pressed her face against his warm fur. The warmth of his body somehow relaxed her, but even though she felt quite tired, Anna was far away from sleeping.

A part of their conversation earlier didn't stop bothering her and there was simply no way for her to stop thinking about it.

_Come on, Anna! Don't be silly! Why do you waste your time thinking about it? It's…That is not going to happen! This part just…isn't in this relationship._

A small sigh escaped her lips and she hoped that her companion hadn't heard it.

It wasn't like today was the first time she would have thought about it. The one who had started it…had been Phaidra. She had brought up this particular topic and since then Anna had sometimes thought about…well sex.

She was 20 years old and apart from one year, she had spent a normal life in Luin. She hadn't been the most beautiful girl in town, but she knew that she had been pretty. Young men had found her pretty. Anna had had boyfriends before and one thing had let to another. She had experience. Good and bad. But for about a year this topic had completely vanished. There just hadn't space in her life for that. Even in the early months of her freedom she hadn't even wasted a second thinking about it. But now…

Now she was thinking about it. Wondering if there ever was a chance that she and….

_No! Don't even try going that way! You know him that well to tell that this is not going to happen. Not in a million years…_

_Still…you thought the same about the kissing part. But to be honest sleeping with someone cannot really be compared with kissing. Tch…What am I doing? How can I honestly be thinking about this? This is…ridiculous. You and him…Just imagine it! There's no way this could happen!_

_But honestly…you would like to, wouldn't you? Well, there's nothing wrong about that. I mean you spent about three months with him alone. And you seriously love him. And he's good looking…Very good looking…_

"What the hell am I doing?" she groaned and sat up. With her hands she brushed her hair behind her ear and looked at the ground for a while. Everything was covered in darkness. The camping fire had already burned down. The only sound she heard was the sound of her and Noishe's breathing.

"Nightmares?" the Seraph asked. The young woman flinched and her heart made a jump.

"Oh…ah…yes! Nightmares…They just won't let me sleep" she answered a bit absent minded. This time it wasn't that hard for her to lie.

Again silence. She played with a strand of her hair for some minutes. The woman lay down again without a saying a word and much to her relieve she fell asleep a few minutes later.

* * *

><p>Noishe barked amused and it sounded almost like he was laughing. Anna gave him a glare. "This is not funny, you furball!" she said angrily and grabbed a new piece of clothing out of her bag. It looked like a nice deep blue shirt, but then she unfolded it and…<p>

"Not again!" she groaned. She stood up and sighed "Dresses! Nothing but dresses! What the hell is Phaidra thinking I'm doing? Going to a ball? Not one, not a single pair of pants!"

She gave up and got into the blue dress. "Next time I meet Yuan I'm going to tell him that he owes me a new pair of pants. Seriously he could have hurt me without ruining my clothes. …Oh great!"

She looked at her chest. "My Crystal is exposed…" she sighed "…I'm not in the mood to look for something else…Oh what have we here?" She picked up a grey jacket and looked at it a bit closer. It really looked quite nice and it fitted to the blue dress. Without further thought she put it on.

"Not perfect, but better than nothing" she thought and looked at herself. Noishe barked. "Really? I do look fetching, don't I?" she said and blinked at him. He wagged with his tail and lifted his head. He wanted to be patted for his compliment. The woman rolled her eyes, but she smiled.

She caressed his forehead with her hands. "Aren't you a good Protozoann? Yes, you are!" she said and hugged him shortly.

"Still I would prefer some pants or something that won't get caught in every bush I walk by" Anna sighed and picked up her bag. While she was collecting the clothes she had sprayed across the ground, she mused "Weird thing is in Luin I only wore things like that. And I really liked it. Just like my mum. She had so much fun dressing me and trying new hairstyles on me. My hair was longer back then. Sometimes I felt like her doll."

The woman let out a deep sigh. Her mother…She had no idea how she was. She didn't even know if she was still alive. The morning before she had been captured by the Desians had been the last time she had seen her. She felt how bitter sadness started to rise in her chest. But then someone interrupted her sad thoughts.

"Anna, are you ready?" the Seraph asked. He had stepped beside her and looked at her. Not without slight concern in his eyes. He had probably heard her.

"Yes, I am" she answered with a bright smile, already trying to prove that his concern was unjustified. "Choosing some clothes took me longer than I expected. Phaidra just packed me all sorts of clothes. Well, only dresses, but a lot of them!" She looked into his eyes for some moments.

"So…can we go now?" she asked innocently.

He nodded simply and started walking. But then about one minute later he asked "This Phaidra…Was her surname by any chance Brunel?"

Anna narrowed her eyes. "Yeah, actually it was. How do you know?"

"It was merely a name I heard at the Temple." The young woman rolled her eyes and suppressed an annoyed sigh.

"Oh spare me this crap. We both know very well why you know her second name." Anna stroke over Noishe's fur and looked a bit sad at the huge animal.

"She's the Chosen One's cousin, but I suppose you know already. She's very worried about her. Well, she has every reason to. Nevertheless she stays optimistic and prays every single day for her. This woman has hope for ten" she stretched her arms "But why did you ask?"

The Seraph answered simply "I've had the feeling that I have heard her name before. I only wanted to be sure."

"Oh…okay" Anna jerked her shoulders "All I can say that this woman was one of the nicest persons I've ever met. Same counts for her husband. But it sucks to be her. Not that my fate" she pointed at her Cruxis Crystal "would be any better. Still loosing a relative for a pointless cause is not really a nice experience."

"For them it's not pointless" her companion responded.

"Yes, I know, but that doesn't change the fact that it hurts her. I mean no matter what the outcome Phaidra looses someone she loves. Either the Chosen One dies or she becomes a vessel. It's unfair…She doesn't deserve that. No one does! If…if there only was a way to change that…but…I guess there isn't."

Anna didn't get an answer. The Seraph remained silent. She looked at him for some minutes. He looked strangely…sad and guilty. An expression he hadn't had in a long time. She frowned.

Then she took his hand and said "Hey, Kratos. That wasn't an accusation. I didn't mean to blame you for their pain. It's not your fault!"

He had already opened his mouth to disagree, but she put a finger on his lips and said "Know what? Before you can assure me that it was your fault and yours alone and that I should despise you for that, we change the subject. Yesterday we only talked about Cruxis stuff and today we talk about it again. I don't know about you, but I'm starting to think that the Cruxis topic is a real mood killer. So can't we talk about something else? Like…I don't know… the weather?"

"You want to talk about the weather?" he asked skeptical.

"Okay, if you have better ideas let me hear them."

"…"

"Didn't think so. But since you're not exactly an expert on human conversations I shouldn't be so hard on you. Hhm…We could for a change talk about something normal."

She tilted her head. Then, before she could do anything against it, she remembered what she had been thinking about last night and then she blushed. Very deeply.

"Anna?" he asked, after she had turned her head away.

"What?" she answered with a slightly higher voice.

"Are you alright?"

"No, I'm not!" the woman answered and rolled her eyes "At least not if you ask that stupid question every time I do something slightly different. You're way to overprotective. Do I really look this fragile to you?"

"No, you don't. But…"

"But what?"

* * *

><p><em>I spare you this particular long conversation. It just went on and on and at the end of the day he and I had only talked about…well nothing important. Not every day is exciting. Even with him.<em>

_But, as you might have noticed, I had started thinking about our relationship a bit more deeply and had arrived at that specific topic. I better not tell you the embarrassing attempts which followed the next week, to…well… you know. They didn't really succeed and he didn't even notice. He told me that, when I asked him later. I completely made a fool of myself and he DIDN'T notice. Seriously… Well, I guess I shouldn't complain. At least he said that I didn't make a fool of myself._

_Oh and before I go on telling the story I warn you right away. I'll tell you about it, but don't expect any details. A woman has the right to have her secrets._

_And can you imagine how mad he would be at me, if I told you? I would never hear the end of it!_

_Alright, I'll just check if he's somewhere nearby…because you know…I don't think he would let me tell…this part…of the story…Oooookay, he's not here._

_So where were we? Right, uneventful day, some babbling and embarrassing attempts. Almost a week had passed and the House of Salvation was already in sight. It was the last night, before we would arrive there._

_I bathed in a small pond with Noishe. "With" is the wrong word; he didn't actually come into the water. He was just there to look after me. But the conversation I had with him should turn out to be very important…_

* * *

><p>"You're sure you don't want to come in?" Anna asked the Protozoan, who stood a few meters away. He shook his head, but he touched with his paws the water surface.<p>

"You aren't exactly a fan of water, are you?" she said and let herself sink a bit deeper into the water.

Again he shook his head.

"Oh now I see. You simply want to be polite and don't come in while I'm naked?"

He nodded.

Anna laughed and splashed some water into his direction. "Well, aren't you a gentlemen? But seriously I don't mind. Firstly because you're not going to turn into human for quite some time and secondly I'm pretty sure you've seen already everything there is to see, the times I went bathing with you before."

He barked and it sounded a little bit flustered. She giggled. "Okay, okay! If you don't want to come in, then don't. I won't force you."

The woman walked into a less deep part of the pond and sat down. The water was surprisingly warm, even for this time of the year. But Triet wasn't far away and the heat of the desert seemed to have some effects on the nearby area.

She looked at her reflection for some time. The woman on the surface resembled the woman she remembered from her time in Luin, but she was still different. She would always be different.

"But…" Anna whispered and raised her head. Then she turned around and asked "Noishe, I want your honest opinion. Am I pretty?"

The Protozoan looked at her surprised then he turned his head into a different direction. He wanted to stay polite.

"Am I, Noishe?" she asked again and there was hint of doubt in her voice.

He barked and nodded without hesitation.

"And you really mean that? You don't lie?"

He nodded again. The Protozoann looked serious.

Anna turned around again, sighed and leaned back. "But pretty doesn't equal attractive, now does it? I just don't get it!" She heard how now let out a confused and a little bit worried sound.

The young woman wrapped her arms around her knees. "I mean he basically says that he loves me, that he enjoys my company and he does everything and I mean everything for me. He gets into the worst kind of danger for me and then he simply…he stops at this point! At this point. Kissing is alright and physical contact, but not more? What man does that? What man doesn't do anything to get…there?"

She groaned. Quite frustrated.

"I mean seriously, Noishe! It's like it is not even in his definition of a relationship. I literally tried everything the past week and he didn't even seem to notice! It drives me out of my mind!"

Anna stood up and went out of the pond. She got into her clothes, while Noishe was demonstrably looking into the opposite direction. "I give it up!" she said eventually, while pulling the dress over her head "It's not going to happen. Never ever! He obviously isn't interested in this sort of thing. He's a four thousand year old Seraph, Anna. What did you expect? He doesn't sleep, because it isn't necessary. Seems like, he uses that kind of logic on everything. Perhaps it's like his appetite. Being an angle suppresses your human needs and instincts. If something as basic as hunger can disappear then….then I shouldn't be surprised if it's just the same with that."

After she had put on her clothes she sat down on the ground and looked at the sky. Thick clouds hung in the sky. She was surprised that it hadn't started raining yet. Noishe sat down beside her and touched her cheek with his nose.

She smiled a little. "I think I make this to a bigger deal than it actually is. Who cares if it is part of this relationship or not? I'm happy! That is what counts, right?" But she didn't sound completely convinced.

The Protozoann barked friendly. She patted his head. "And who knows? I got him to kiss me. With some time…anything is possible." Noishe tilted his head and looked slightly confused. She raised an eyebrow and said "You do know what I've been talking about the past few minutes?"

Noishe nodded energetic.

"Oh really? What was I talking about?" she wanted to know.

The Protozoan barked.

"I fear you have to be more specific."

He rolled his eyes and barked again. This time louder.

"What was that? I didn't quite catch that?"

Now he growled annoyed and Anna laughed. She kissed his forehead. "You're far too easy to tease" the woman stated and stood up. She went back to the camping place, closely followed by Noishe. They had gone extra far away, so that her angelic companion couldn't "accidentally" listen to their conversations.

Anna stretched her arms and yawned. Then something came into her mind.

"Hey, Noishe! If we arrive tomorrow at the House of Salvation, where will you sleep?" she wanted to know.

He wined loudly. "Oh you poor thing! Life is so unfair to you!"

The Protozoann nodded. Anna laughed silently and patted him again.

"Oh ahm Noishe? This conversation stays between us, alright? I really don't want him to know, that…well, you know" she said and looked at him. Noishe looked a bit like he would smile. Then he barked.

"Thanks! You're a real friend!"

After about two minutes the two arrived at the camping place. Noishe lay down next to the fire and stretched his legs. He yawned content and for a moment Anna could see his long and without doubt dangerous teeth.

"Hey! Where's Kratos?" the woman asked a bit surprised, when she noticed his absence. Noishe simply jerked his shoulders. "He usually never leaves the camping place" she said a bit worried and sat down "Except…when Desians or something else is around." She looked at the Protozoan. "You didn't hear or see anything dangerous, right?" He nodded and barked to calm her down. "But…but…he never leaves…" she mumbled and the concern in her voice grew stronger and stronger.

She sat next to the fire silently and waited. And waited…and waited. Probably for about three hours, but it felt for her like eternity. And she just couldn't shake off the feeling that there was something wrong. _What the hell is taking him so long?_ she thought angrily and quite worried. Time passed and with every minute a feeling in her grew stronger. The feeling of being alone…of being left alone. She had felt the same way in Iselia, when she had thought that the Seraph had been taken back to Derris Kharlan. _Stop thinking about that! He is just gone to…do whatever he does!_

But her eyes felt heavier and heavier and she almost fell asleep several times. Just when the woman was about to give in to sleep, she heard grass rustling. Her head shot up and she looked at the Seraph, who looked kind of…surprised.

"You are still awake?" he asked.

"Yes, I am!" she answered "How I am supposed to sleep, when I don't know where you are?"

The man sat down. He didn't look hurt or anything. Not even exhausted. He looked absolutely normal. However, it seemed like something was bothering him.

"Where have you been, Kratos? I was seriously worried about you" Anna said and sat down next to him.

"I thought I heard some monster so I controlled if the camping place was safe" he answered. There was no hesitation in his voice. It seemed like he had said the truth.

"But…you've never done that before" the young woman said. She couldn't help but feeling that he was hiding something from her.

"There was no need before" he simply responded. It was a lousy answer, but Anna was already too tired to say something about it.

"Oh…okay…" she mumbled silently as her eyes slowly closed "I…was just worried…about you, Kratos…" And then she fell asleep on his shoulder.

* * *

><p>The woman rolled her eyes and crossed her arms in front of her chest. "No matter what you say, there IS something wrong with you today. I mean you can hardly look at me" she said and looked at the Seraph. His face was calm, but it was as if beneath the surface something wasn't calm at all.<p>

"I can look at you" he answered and looked at her. But it was a brief look.

"Oh come on! Tell me what's wrong!" she demanded and sounded a little bit desperate "What bothers you? Was it something I said or did?" It had to be somehow her fault. That was the only explanation for his strange behavior.

He shook his head. "There is nothing that bothers me, so it cannot be your fault."

She groaned frustrated. "Now I understand why you are so annoyed when you ask me about my Crystal and I say "It's nothing." It really drives me insane, not knowing what is going on in your head." She looked at him worried. Anna was quite sure that he was upset. He avoided eye contact, barely talked (even less than usually) and she was quite sure that he avoided looking at her at all. It had to be somehow her fault.

"Kratos! There is something wrong! Stop lying to me and tell me!" the young woman demanded and she sounded honestly worried. For a second his expression changed and she thought he was about to tell, but then he said "There is nothing wrong, Anna."

In that moment she was about to rip off his head. But she stopped herself and said "Okay, fine! I'll believe you, even if it's a lie…" Suddenly thunder could be heard in the distance and the woman slightly flinched.

"We should hurry if we want to arrive in the House of Salvation, before it starts raining" the Seraph said and looked at the dark grey sky. It could start any moment now.

"You're probably right" she said and forgot her earlier worries, when a raindrop landed on her face. The next one came only a second later.

"But it seems like it's too late for it anyway" he said, when it started literally pouring with rain. Anna laughed and answered "Come on! Let's hurry before we get swept away!"

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><p>"I told you that they would react like that" the young woman said "A man and a woman traveling alone? The only explanation for a priest is that we're either brother and sister or…well, married. If you had let me talk to him, he wouldn't have given us this room." She looked at the two beds in the rather small room. Anna seemed to be slightly disappointed. "I would have liked to sleep in a big bed" she turned her head to him "Seriously; it wouldn't have hurt to say that we're not related."<p>

"He simply assumed it and I thought it was unnecessary to correct him" he answered, while watching her getting out of her drenched jacket.

She rolled her eyes. "Unnecessary…" she scoffed, but didn't comment his explanation any further. Then she kneeled down and looked into her bag.

"Praise the goddess!" she exclaimed after some moments and pulled out a piece of clothing. Then she flinched after she had realized what she had said and apologized "Sorry! But I've just found a dress, which isn't completely drenched." Quite swiftly she went into the small bathroom and after less than two minutes she came out dressed in a light gray dress. Now her Crystal was exposed. The dark blue stone was shimmering slightly. Absent minded the woman wiped some water drops off it.

Then Anna laid the wet dress and her other clothing on a chair, so they could dry during the night. Water drops were still dripping from her chocolate brown hair. Annoyed she brushed her wet strands out of her face. "Don't you think it's weird that he thought we're siblings?" she said all of a sudden "I mean we don't look alike at all."

He didn't quite know how to respond to that and remained silent. Fortunately for him Anna's attention got caught quickly by something else. "You do realize that you're soaked to the skin?" she asked with one fine eyebrow risen.

"I am aware of that" he stated. Now she narrowed her eyes.

"And you're not going to do anything about it?"

"Why should I?"

"Isn't it…uncomfortable?" the woman asked a bit unsure.

He just shook his head. Instead of saying anything, Anna went to the bathroom again and came back with a white towel in her left hand.

"Here" she said.

"I don't need it" he answered and looked at her.

She smiled softly, but didn't move her hand away. "I know, but…could you at least dry your face? Then you wouldn't look like you would freeze to death at any moment."

"I cannot feel the cold let alone freeze to death."

"Yeah, I know that."

"Then why…"

"Just do it, Kratos. Please…" then she simply handed it over to him and sat down on one of the beds. She watched him expectantly until he gave in with a "Hmpf…" and dried his face with the towel. A very bright and beautiful smile was his reward.

Some minutes of silence passed, but as the Seraph knew, they wouldn't last very long. Anna wasn't very fond of silence and she would break it without doubt any moment. But to his surprise she simply sat cross-legged on the bed and looked out of the window. It was still pouring with rain and every now and again a flash of lighting lit up the sky. Then she turned her head to him. In her hazelnut eyes lay a somehow shy expression.

The young woman bit her lower lip for some moments, before she said carefully "Your…Cruxis Crystal…is the reason you don't feel the cold, right? So I've been wondering…if you took it off, would…you feel the cold?"

Anna looked at him. Her companion did seem to be quite surprised by her question. She had asked herself that question, but hadn't found an answer. Was his Crystal the only reason he couldn't feel human needs or had those instincts simply been lost over time? Was alone the Cruxis Crystal to blame for his lack of human emotions?

"It would take some time, but presumably I would" the Seraph answered eventually. Surprised that he had answered at all, the young woman replied "So after some time you'd feel tired and hungry again?"

He nodded.

Anna looked at her hands for a minute or two. _Is it really this simple?_

"Then why don't you?" she mumbled, well aware that he could hear her.

"Don't what?" he asked.

"Why don't you…" she looked up "take it off?"

He tilted his head slightly to the side. "Anna, I need to Crystal to fight" he said calm.

The woman stood up. "But why do you need it now? You don't have to fight."

"I need to be prepared in case…"

"In case of what? Cruxis? You just said two hours ago, that there was no way they could find us right now. The Desians? If Cruxis can't find us, how should they? We are safe here, even if only for a short time."

"Why do you want me to take my Crystal off?" he asked and only then Anna realized that she had been coming closer to him the whole time. She flushed a bit.

"Because…I don't understand that you want to keep something that suppresses a part of who you are. I know that you need it, but…"

"But what?" he asked.

"But don't you get tired of feeling nothing? Isn't it boring to not feel a difference between hot and cold? Doesn't it drive you insane to neither feel hungry or tired?" she asked him.

"I can feel those things, but they are not as intense as you feel them. I explained this to you before."

"Isn't the intensity of those feelings what makes them what they are? If all those feelings don't make any difference to you, then they don't have any meaning!"

"Anna, are…" but before he could finish his sentences, she kissed him. His lips were still cold just like the rest of his face. Some water drops dripped from his hair on her face and tickled her as they continued their way downwards. But before long she stopped and their lips parted.

"What does a kiss mean if you can't feel it with all the intensity it possesses?" she asked with an already racing heart.

Instead of answering the Seraph kissed her with one hand in her still wet hair and the other hand resting on her waist. Her breath sped up and she was quite sure that her heart had literally skipped a beat. There was something in this kiss. Something…new.

"I don't recall stating that I don't experience a kiss how you do" he said after he had ended the kiss.

Anna, a little bit out of breath, answered "I'm pretty sure, that you said that any kind of touch isn't as intense for you as it would be for me."

"I did not say any kind of touch."

"Well, I assumed…"

"Your assumption is wrong."

"Oh, and you found it necessary to correct me?" she asked with a smirk.

"But only because your assumption was so completely and unacceptably false" he replied ignoring her tease.

A different kind of smile played now on Anna's lips. "If I'm so wrong, then why don't you do it more often?"

"Do what?"

"Kissing me like you've just did before" she came a bit closer "Why don't you always kiss me like this?" Her hands rested on his chest, but as she waited for an answer they were slowly moving to his neck. And when she was already pulling him closer, he responded "Because I can't afford being so…distracted, when I should be protecting you from the danger you're in because of me."

"We're safe here. There's no danger. So you can afford…being distracted" she answered softly and kissed him.

"You don't leave me much choice anyway" the Seraph said.

"Oh shush!" she mumbled before she kissed him again. And this time she clearly felt what was new about his kisses. There was passion and even something which felt like desire. He tasted so good. Sweet but there was also a hint of a taste she couldn't really describe. Heat spread from her head to her entire body and made her wanting more. Something more than a kiss. She wanted it. She craved for it, but a part in her (a quite disappointed part) knew that he would stop soon. He always did. It was like he had no idea what was going on inside of her. Every time when her heart was already burning with passion, the Seraph stopped like there was nothing beyond kissing and…

_What…_she thought slightly confused, when Anna noticed that behind her back was pressed against a wall. _Did he really just…push me against the wall? _Their eyes met and then she knew that he had. The surprise was written all over her face.

The woman saw that he was about to say something, so she grabbed his collar and pulled him to her to shut his lips with hers. Whatever it was he wanted to say to her it could wait until later. Until much later. A quiet moan escaped her lips. If he only knew what he was doing to her. Seriously, how could someone who hadn't had any contact to other humans for four thousand years be so good at this?

Then their lips parted again, but his face stayed so close to hers that she felt his breath brushing over her skin. This almost-kiss was somehow even more intense and passionate than a normal kiss could ever be. It sent a tremor down her spine.

And when she looked into his eyes, she suddenly realized that he was asking a silent question. The question simply hung in the air for some moments and the silence in the room built up an almost unbearable tension. But Anna wasn't able to answer, because she was far too confused.

Why? Why now? What had happened? What had changed his mind? What was different from a few days ago? Was there even an explanation? _Just why? Is he serious? Am I misinterpreting this?_

But then she realized with a smile on her lips that she couldn't really care less about the "why?" now and with a very passionate kiss she answered his question. The only thing that was still bothering her was the question _How the hell am I supposed to open this damn Cruxis clothing?_

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><p><strong>I don't know how I should feel about this chapter. I personally really like it and I enjoyed writing it, but…<strong>

**Well, usually I have a vague idea how people will react to a chapter, but I have no idea how you will react to this one.**

**In my defense I had to write that.**

**I mean sooner or later I had to write about those two getting…intimate. Lloyd is the living proof they did it at least once and I **_**highly **_**doubt that it happened only once.**

**Still I feel like a crossed a border, but since I only described the kissing part and nothing more I don't feel so bad. I leave all those other (dirty) details to your imagination. ;)**

**Please review! Please!**

**And thank you so much for reading (and waiting)!**


	19. A Lecture in Decency

Chapter 19

I am really sorry!

**I do not own the characters or locations of Tales of Symphonia.**

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><p>Anna's mother had always told her that the most attractive trait of a woman was decency. "Men fall in love with well-behaved women, Anna. Beauty alone is not enough!" her mother had said. She used to say that a decent woman should be well-mannered, educated, religious, humble, patient, polite and lots of other things Anna had already forgotten. So her mother had basically devoted all her time and effort to teach her all those traits and rules a respectable woman should follow.<p>

And Anna had really tried. Had listened to these endless lectures and had learned them by heart. She had done her best to behave and to act like the person her mother had wanted her to be.

But Anna had very soon found out that she just wasn't that kind of woman.

She had her own opinions and never failed to voice them even if it would be better to simply shut up. Anna didn't like waiting and was as easily bored as a toddler. And she babbled all day long, because she just couldn't bear the sound of silence. She was light-hearted, carefree and if she wanted to quite flirty.

So it had only been a matter of time until Anna had started to get in trouble with her mother.

She could very well remember her mother's face when she had caught her snogging the neighbor's son. That had caused quite a fuss. Said fuss being a solid hour of screaming and yelling about how Anna could even think about kissing a boy before marriage. Her mother had kept going on and on about how her behavior was going to give her a reputation as an easy girl in Luin and how that would ruin her chances of ever getting married. Then she had told her to never ever see that boy again, which him being the neighbour's son was strictly speaking impossible, and had grounded her for two whole months.

Unfortunately for her mother that didn't prevent Anna from doing that again. The prospect of doing something forbidden and the threat of being caught simply gave the whole thing a certain thrill. So Anna had met her boyfriends at night or at secret places and had used her job at the library as a cover. And luckily her mother had never caught her again.

Therefore she supposed it was Karma that now she had to listen to a seriously long and very familiar speech about premarital sex and indecency in one of the Goddess's Houses.

"During my long time as a priest in the service of our Goddess Martel I have never before witnessed such…a repulsive and blasphemous behavior!" the man and the head of this House of Salvation barked glaring at her. He was waving his arms around to emphasize just how angry he was, but honestly it just looked ridiculous in his wide robe.

"Witnessed? Were you standing at the door or what?" Anna replied before she could stop herself. That obviously hit a nerve, because his face turned to an ever darker shade of red. She could have slapped herself.

"Not only that you pretend to be brother and sister and soil a holy place with your voluptuous sins but now you dare to talk back?!" At this point Anna honestly wondered if a human head could explode. His face was crimson red and veins had started to show on his forehead and his temples. It surely couldn't be as much of a deal as he made it sound like. Sure, a House of Salvation wasn't the best place to sleep with someone, but apart from the priest no one had been there, so it wasn't like anyone would find out about it as long as they would shut up.

Still the priest had sort of a point so the young woman tried to prevent further trouble and possibly a heart attack.

"I'm sorry. I know that this is holy ground and we have been disrespectful to the hospitality you have granted us. And I'm especially sorry for not being at least engaged with him. But you know…" Anna tried to find the right words "the whole sibling thing…You kind of assumed it and didn't ask if we were really related. So that's not…Well, technically that's really not our fault."

The Priest seemed to try very hard not to explode when he asked "Would you then explain to me why your…your companion didn't correct me when I made said assumption?"

"Ähm…well…you see…He kind of thought it wasn't necessary to correct you…" she answered scratching the back of her head.

"Who in their right mind thinks it's not necessary to correct false assumptions?" he asked incredulous.

"That's what I said!" but before she could say anything else the Priest snapped "I do not care! You are going to pack up all your belongings and leave this place at once! I don't want to see either of you here ever again!"

"Even if we were married?"

"I said EVER!" the man yelled and furiously pointed with his arms upstairs.

"Alright. Alright" Anna said and tried to sound apologetic "We will leave. As soon as possible." She then turned around and quickly walked up the stairs taking two steps at a time. Who could have known that priests could be this furious?

After Anna had closed the door she shot her companion, who looked as if the deafening yelling of the priest didn't concern him in the slightest, a glare and said "For the record this is entirely your fault!"

"To my knowledge it takes two people to commit the offence on which account we are being thrown out" he answered matter-of-factly, while already packing their stuff.

"Oh really? Then explain to me why if it takes two people then don't have both people to listen to the lecture?" she asked with a risen eyebrow "You should have had your ears yelled off too, you know."

"I did hear him crystal clear" he replied, which was better than the "Hmpf" the woman had expected, but still not the answer she would have liked to hear.

"That's not the same and you know it" she shoved one of her dried dresses in her bag "Besides you picked this place. It wasn't my idea."

The Seraph picked up his sword scabbard and strapped it to his belt. It was different now looking at him. Firstly she finally knew how to open this Cruxis clothing and seriously, she had absolutely no idea what kind of lunatic had come up with this design. The amount of buckles she had opened was ridiculous. And most importantly Anna knew now what was under those clothes and that was…well very nice to know to say the least.

"I would have been open for any suggestion of where else to go" Kratos said.

"Really? Well, I'll be sure to remember that for the next time" the woman replied and rolled her eyes "But before that you're going downstairs and have your fair share of lecturing, because, like you said, it takes two."

"I suppose this isn't a suggestion."

"You know me too well."

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><p>Curiosity had gotten Anna into a lot of trouble. Seriously life-threatening trouble. But hell would have to freeze over, before she wouldn't eavesdrop on Kratos, a four thousand year old Seraph, being yelled at by a Priest of Martel.<p>

And fortunately she had managed to sneak out before the priest had noticed her or Kratos. So she was currently overhearing the preaching from the safety of the other side of the front door.

"This is a House of the Goddess! A sanctuary for all of her believers! This is holy ground and what do you do? You give in to the pleasure of the flesh! Ashamed you should be! Ashamed!" the priest shouted.

Anna had to give this man some credit for actually yelling at Kratos. After all he was quite intimidating. The people at the Temple hadn't even tried to be subtle about avoiding him and even Anna had at the Ranch been quite careful around him. And rightly so. The Seraph hid a power so great that even normal humans could feel it. So the priest was braver than most people. Or dumber. She couldn't decide.

"And now get out of my sight! If I never see you again, it will be too soon!" the priest yelled. Now Anna could hear steps coming closer and quickly moved as far away from the door as possible. The priest came stomping out and passed her heading to the gardens next to the building. He was mumbling about sins and indecency and his head had roughly the same shade of red as a tomato.

"So…" the woman said once her companion came out of the building "How was it?"

The man seemed to think about it for a moment and answered "As to be expected from a priest." That was not at all the answer Anna had wanted and she had the feeling that he knew that.

"That's not what I meant." He sighed, obviously realizing that she wouldn't let this go until she got a proper answer.

"It was not the first time someone yelled at me and it won't be the last."

"Yeah, right. Who else yells at…" she paused and made a silent 'o' sound. "I do. I yell at you. I forgot about that" Anna said slightly flustered.

"Your lecturing is different" he answered calmly. The woman looked at him confused. Shouting was shouting, wasn't it?

"How can my yelling be different?"

"You show affection through it. Most of your yelling is because you are worried about Noishe or me. You are not really angry at us, but at the possibility of us getting into danger, Anna" the Seraph explained and she could feel the fondness behind his words. He was right, though. Her most violent outbursts happened when he got himself into the most horrible danger(because of her). She hated worrying about him and well, yelling was her way of dealing with the fear of losing him. Not the best way but then again Anna had never claimed that it was.

But the fact that he understood that about her surprised her immensely.

"If…If you know that, then why do you get yourself into trouble so often? If you were more careful, I wouldn't have to yell so often."

He pondered over that for a while and then answered "Perhaps it is nice to be reminded that someone actually cares if I live or die."

It was a good thing that mouths could be used for talking and kissing, because that had left Anna absolutely speechless.

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><p><strong>Author's note: Since these events take place about twenty years before the game I thought that these old fashioned traditions and values would be appropriate for Sylvarant. The church of Martel has a huge influence on the people and I believe that Sylvarant is quite conservative in some aspects. And I like the thought that one of the major problems those two encounter is not something with Cruxis or Desians but that it's improper for a man and a woman to travel together without being married. It's unlike the other obstacles they will face (very soon I might add).<strong>

**And I'm really sorry.**


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